|
|
| Welcome to the new home of Jim Werbaneth's desktop publishing efforts. I entered wargame design in the early nineties, and after designing the Charles S. Roberts co-winner Inchon and then Britain Stands Alone, concentrated on other endeavors. Some were in the greater world, and others were still in wargaming. Most notably, I have been the publisher, editor, and chief writer for Line of Departure magazine since 1991. But even if I left the designing end of the industry, the desire to design never left me. So I'm back to what I always wanted to do in wargaming in the first place. This time I'm adding yet another role too: Desk top publisher. There have been a lot of DTP publishers over the years, and I have tried to learn from all of them. I'm doing something a little different though. Instead of publishing printed versions of my games, I will produce electronic versions, in Adobe pdf format. That will accomplish some things that the standard format does not. First, it will keep my costs down, so that I can publish with minimal investment, and always have the means to give you the customer a quality product, with a lot less regard for the availability of funds. It is capitalism, free of the constraints of capital. Second, I can keep your costs down as well. If I can e-mail you a copy of a game instead of mailing an envelope, then there are no printing bills or postage costs to pass on to you. Third, I expect to be able to do more things, add more features, and give you quality graphics. At the same time, my games will always be packaged with the player in mind. That means that they will be printer-friendly. I can make the maps look good, and at the same time not demand that anyone expend huge quantities of ink to print them. In addition, my maps will be printable on normal letter or legal-sized paper, in overlapping sections. No one should have to struggle with printer settings or to find a printer capable of printing on larger sheets. If you can buy it, you should be able to print and play the game right out of the electronic package. PRODUCTS
WINNER, CHARLES S. ROBERTS AWARD AS BEST AMATEUR MAGAZINE FOR 2006, 2007, 2008 AND 2010
Order by check or money order. WHAT YOU NEED The most important is a computer with a printer and an Internet connection, preferably broadband. The files are big and can take some time to download. You also need an e-mail account capable of receiving large ZIP files seven megabyte range to be safe. You have to have room left in your mailbox to receive the files, and also have a service that lets you receive attachments that large. I have tested and found that free accounts from Yahoo, Google Gmail, and Hotmail all work well. However, be careful that there are no blocks on compressed ZIP attachments from firewalls or anti-virus software. If you are going to receive delivery at work, check with your IT department, both about this and any relevant policies that your employer has about personal e-mails and data security. Do not attempt delivery to a free Excite.com e-mail address. Excite's mailboxes and maximum attachment sizes are sufficiently large, but the company blocks all ZIP attachments as threats. If your Internet connection or e-mail capacity is not compatible, or you cannot otherwise take electronic delivery of one of my games, do not despair. For a nominal fee I will be happy to copy the product to a CD-ROM and mail to you the old-fashioned way. Once you have it, you need a printer to turn the components into hard copy, something with which to cut out the counters, and a die.
Graphic by Art Lupinacci of L2 Design Group
|
