Train Sim Monthly - outline of major changes

[JonPotter]

This thread is only for discussion of the changes. Please use the old thread for the discussion of inividual issues. We would like to hear all of your views to these changes.

TSM press release, dated 29th January 2008.
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Train Sim Monthly magazine will shortly be making a major transition. Due to the limited amount of articles recent issues have been shortened to around 8 pages, and even our LNER special struggled to reach the 14-page norm.

The magazine will therefore take a new format. Every two months, there will be a major 14-page magazine, while the other months will see shorter newssheets, as it were, of around 5 pages distributed.

However, this is not an end for the magazine as we know it. The shorter issues will still feature an editorial, news, adverts and even reviews. The full 14-page issues will continue as they are at the moment, with an increased level of competitions and specials, and more exciting and exclusive features.

A recent complaint of the magazine has been the distribution availability. For this reason, we will be increasing the number and quality of outlets as described below:

· New website. We will shortly be launching an all new website which will include all the back issues, news in brief and a more in depth look at the team and other aspects of the magazine that are not normally viewed. More excitingly however, we will also have a series of exclusive downloadable items for railway simulators on the site.
· UKTrainSim. This site, which has been hosting our issue since June 2007, continues to be the main resource for simulation fans. We will continue to upload our magazines here, therefore, for as long as possible.
· E-mail delivery. An improved e-mail delivery service will be launched shortly.
· CD’s. We will be looking at making CD’s available every other month including the magazine and newssheet.
· Magazine ‘hard copy’ format. The September issue will be, in association with Train Simulator Convention, a hard copy. Depending on the success of this, we will look at making the bi-monthly longer issues available as hard copies.

These changes will be reinforced by a continuing 3-month period of enhancing the quality of the magazine. This will include increasing the number and knowledge of members on the team, and also tweak the format of the magazine itself. Hopefully this will result in much more reasonable download sizes.

All of these changes will take time to implement, and we will be launching them from the March 2008 issue. Therefore, the April issue will be the first newssheet. Hence, the longer (traditional) issues will be on the odd numbered months. The new website should be ready for a full launch shortly after the March issue, if not in time for it. The format changes will be launched from the July 2008 main magazine.

We will be launching a major advertising campaign shortly to push downloads above 5,000 an issue from all the outlets. Recent downloads have slumped, possibly due to the problems that some of users have had downloading from UKTrainSim.

Finally, we would like to thank all of our readers and those who have given us support over the last 9 months, and we look forward to delivering many future issues.

Jon Potter
Editor, Train Sim Monthly magazine

End
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[tripman]

Hi Jon. Any news on the new website you intend shortly to be launching, which will include all the back issues.
You must have a number of readers like me who can't download it from UKTS on none premium. I still need No8.
Nice mag by the way. creep creep. CU Eric

[WSR2005]

Jon,

Good luck with the changes you are making (especially the new website) - I think it's a well-run project, and I admire your entrepreneurial skills. If ever you need an article on something, feel free to give me a bell if you wish

Tim

[JonPotter]

Thanks guys.

Im afraid I'm in the middle of post-offer Uni open days & interviews etc at the moment, so things are a little hectic. Hopefully not too long though.

The Feb issue has been cancelled I'm afraid - the March one will be going ahead for 7th but will not be lengthened.

[JonPotter]

Sorry, there's a small delay to this issue. Time really is at a massive premium at present.

I'm going to ask again - please submit articles. Doesn't matter if you've never done one before, we'll help you with it. Anything you want thats both train sim related and factual. I'm desperately struggling at present to even do an issue every other month.

[kieranhardy]

Sorry, there's a small delay to this issue. Time really is at a massive premium at present.

I'm going to ask again - please submit articles. Doesn't matter if you've never done one before, we'll help you with it. Anything you want thats both train sim related and factual. I'm desperately struggling at present to even do an issue every other month.

If you are struggling so much why dont you ask someone else to make the next issue? someone with more time? instead of trying to do it yourself when you dont have the time and it being delayed more and more... i did think there were other people in the team, why not send out an email to all the team members asking if anyone can help out? It would be apreciated if there was more contact between team members, i thought i was one but i dont have any emails from you or anyone else who is in the team. Why not email the members telling them that there are problems and the mag will be delayed before saying it on the forum, that way the other team members can let the forum know without you having too when your busy...

[JonPotter]

I very much doubt that would help at all. You are more than welcome to do an issue, but the template nature of the format of the magazine would not help.

The time is not in the editing, its in having to write the articles and news as we are getting no submissions.

[Blackpatch]

Hello Jon, do you have a release date in mind yet? Been waiting for this issue.

[lumpchase]

Jon,

with regards to the mag, one of the biggest killers filesizewise is the fact that all the pages are an image in a PDF. Could you not create the PDF as a normal file which has text where text should be and images where images should be?

I don't know what software you are using but there are many available that can output to PDF in such a way while still allowing you to keep/create a templated format. The most commonly available ones would be OpenOffice or Microsoft Publisher.

Just a thought, I have also sent a PM with further suggestions which I didn't think would be relevant to be posted on the public forums.

Tony