Allspark Insider Feedback Thread, Special Dark Of the Moon Pre-Movie Issue Now Available! Options

[Shattered]

Frontpage Link

Not sure where this thread best belongs, so we'll start here. Just wanted to share my thoughts on the new project.

I can see this as being very helpful to me in the future. I hadn't missed much of the news for this roundup, though a couple things mentioned had slipped by radar. The next few months are going to be really busy for me, so I imagine this will be a great resource. I really liked the inclusion of the Art Contest entries, which were really good this month, and the featured MTMTE bio and story. First time I've ever read one of the fanfic pieces here, actually. I'll have to finish it sometime.

Couple of suggestions: the art wasn't are clean as it should have been for a couple of the pics. I'm sure it's some kind of file format issue. I hope it can be fixed in the future. Also, I would be more convenient if the clickable links within the magazine opened in a new tab, as switching from board software to magazine PDF is a bit cumbersome.

Keep up the good work, folks!

This post has been edited by Master Fwiffo: Aug 14 2009, 10:40 AM

[Fangwing]

ah HA! We were wondering why there was no discussion-- nobody saw the pinned thread.

http://www.allspark.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60705

Which files in particular weren't quite clean? With a few images I didn't have the native resolution files to work with.

This post has been edited by Dr Fang: Jul 17 2009, 05:31 PM

[Master Fwiffo]

For those who missed it: http://www.allspark.com/content/view/5707/81/

We at the Allspark Staff strive to bring you the best format for Transformers News, and community activity. Last month, we premiered the Allspark Insider, a web-based magazine that we hoped would be a one-stop for a news recap as well as a showcase for community activities, such as Fanfic contests and Art Contests (And toys from the TF Picture thread!).

What we want to know now is, should we continue this magazine? What did you like? What didn't you like? What would you change?

Please give us feedback, and an idea on whether or not you would read it if we continued to publish it regularly. Thanks for your feedback!

Also, vote on our poll on the front page!

This post has been edited by Master Fwiffo: Aug 11 2009, 08:09 PM

[Shattered]

I thought the magazine was a great resource, especially for those little bits of news that don't stay on the front page long. I really liked the featured art and fiction, and this was the first I've read any fiction from the Allspark. I think the magazine could be a huge help to me as my schedule gets busier in the fall.

The only problems I'd address is that some of the art was a little granulated.

I hope you're not seriously considering dropping the project based on response to one issue. You have to cultivate an audience, you can't expect floods of people for the first one.

[Cabooceratops]

Yes indeed, I enjoyed it a lot.

[KidTDragon]

Maybe you could drop the news parts. It was all kind of dated by the time you were able to release the magazine.

[Dake]

I honestly didn't know it was there - but my Bookmark takes me straight to the forums and I hardly ever check the front page.

My favorite part as the movie review section! Now that I know about it, I'll look for it.

This post has been edited by Dake: Aug 12 2009, 08:13 AM

[Noisemaker]

I think if you made it focused on the community more, and less on news that most of us already knew about, it'd be a lot more fun. The first one was cool, though.

[Apostrophe]

I'd second the community focus rather than a news focus.

[Quantumhawk]

I think the news part is valuable, maybe just put that towards the end. Some people who were once very present in the news scene end up too busy to stay up to date. This alleviates those people posting 6 months later going "Masterpiece Skywarp? In the US? Since when?"

[Master Fwiffo]

I'm repurposing these threads as the Allspark Insider feedback thread (since people like to ignore the sticky). Issue 2 is up now! Read it here!

http://www.allspark.com/content/view/5878/20/

This post has been edited by Master Fwiffo: Aug 14 2009, 10:41 AM

[HeyMickey]

Oh hey! My photo of Scalpel's in there! Neat! I'm a little conufsed by the last page though. Why is Give Me Your Face over the entire page instead of just the poll?

I really like the idea of moving the content to more of a community spotlight type of role. The Allspark is a big, busy place with a lot of members and its easy to miss some really great contributions that the members have made. This is a great way to highlight interesting discussions, funny comments, and art of all types of the past month.

[Esser-Z]

I definitely like the community spotlight idea.

[Shattered]

First thoughts:

Any way to adjust the kerning on the first paragraph? The wide and irregular spacing of letters it a bit distracting.

The new IDW ongoing is actually titled "The Transformers."

Describing the IDW series, there's a line that goes "See lonegamer's IDW report here." Is there supposed to be a link there?

Is it possible to set links to open in a new tab, rather than having to switch between site and PDF in the same window?

I love Deadfurrow. Good choice this month. The Art contest was particularly great this month, so that works quite well. The Chronicle Challanges of years past is an odd feature that doesn't really do much for me. The Wheelie interview is written perfectly in character, and a lot of fun. As are the trivia and games this month.

Much improved on the image quality this month. Keep up the good work, and I hope it only gets better from here! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-ironhide.gif)

[News Team]

Hey Allsparkers! The All New ALLSPARK INSIDER is now up and running!

http://www.allspark.com/content/insider/InsiderOctober09.pdf

We'd love your feedback to continue - and in fact, some of the feedback here directly inspired our redesign. So please, keep the feedback coming, and thanks for your support!

[Shattered]

Overall, I really enjoy the new format. It feels a little more like a real magazine, while at the same time taking advantage of the online media aspect. I think breaking down a single page into multiple sub-sections works really well in this format: the intro, news, and back pages all really shine here. I really like the little format and border elements for the toy pic and art contest photos; very sharp.

The content seems spot on for what I'm looking for: a news recap page, art page, fan character page, fanfic page, and an engaging back page. I like the quotes chosen for this issue; keep up to interesting ones!

I like that each page now seems to have its own mascot character. However, the photos don't always work well. If these are going to be the same characters each month, it's probably with the time and effort to clean up the edges of the art in Photoshop. And their placement could be better as well: poor Heinlad and Reflector seem crammed into that space, while Shortround and Slamdance look great in their use.

Just a couple of format nitpicks. Bonecrusher's editorial is a little difficult to read, being black font on a dark purple gradient. The comic releases section suffers similarly. Would it be possible to have the links open in a new tab? I'd like to keep the mag open, rather than transitioning back and forth.

Glad to see the mag back this month. Keep u the good work, guys! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-ironhide.gif)

[Master Fwiffo]

Just a couple of format nitpicks. Bonecrusher's editorial is a little difficult to read, being black font on a dark purple gradient. The comic releases section suffers similarly.

That's an error - only certain pdf readers have them open in grey rather than white as they're intended too. I haven't been able to figure out why only those two do it (they're the same color as every other darn white text in my reader), but we'll try and get that fixed up for the next issue.

Would it be possible to have the links open in a new tab? I'd like to keep the mag open, rather than transitioning back and forth.

Good idea. I'm not sure, but I'll try to do that as well! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-hotrod.gif)

Thanks for the feedback, and I'm glad you enjoyed it!

This post has been edited by Master Fwiffo: Oct 5 2009, 01:13 PM

[Esser-Z]

The links open in my browser for me, while meanwhile the insider is in a PDF viewer. However, if you're having trouble, try ctrl + click to open in a new tab.

[News Team]

The November 09 Issue of the Allspark Insider is available now!

Tracking down and interviewing Jolt was more difficult than finding all his scenes in the movie (There are 4). Enjoy this months issue! Available in Hi-Quality (Clearer images) or Low-Quality (Smaller file size).

Your feedback and comments are welcome and appreciated!

[Rust]

Wow, my fic got honored this time around. I'm flattered. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-op.gif)