Commodore 64 Book - available now

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andrew_rollings
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Post by andrew_rollings »

biggestjim wrote:
merman wrote: And he's a Spectrum fan, so you gotta expect a bit of colour clash ;)
:lol: I should've known. Hehe.
Andrew wrote: Seriously though, take a look at the sample pages from the ZX Spectrum book (see my sig). They're much more polished, seeing as the book is finished. Also, they look much much better in print than they do on screen.
I'm just talking general lay-out 'rules' here. The do's and do not's about type, text flow, use of color etc. and they've all been ignored so far. And yes, also in the Spectrum book.

Don't get me wrong, I love these kind of projects and I hope they're a huge succes for both the other Andrew and you, I'd support them whenever I can. I really do care, so I have to tell that this lay-out hurts my eyes and brains and only the thought of how excellently mindblowing this book could look makes me dazzle.

Is there no-one around with a bit more experience and an eye for design to give some tips/advice/support?
It would make it so much more worthwhile and interesting.

Look for example at Retro Gamer. Look at the type, look at the text, look at the way they present screenshots. Be inspired, copy some ideas, give them your own twist and it will surely make the book better looking and therefor more attractive for your potential buyers.

This is supposed to be positive criticism, I hope you understand.
Succes!
:)

Hehe... If you knew how I laid out and typeset the speccy book, you'd cringe from here to next year :)

I have just bought Adobe InDesign, so it's possible it might get an 'extreme makeover' if I get time to learn it...

I have to say though (with all modesty!) the speccy book looks fantastic in print... It doesn't show up so well in the pdfs though.

Andrew
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exobuzz
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Post by exobuzz »

andrew_rollings wrote: I have to say though (with all modesty!) the speccy book looks fantastic in print... It doesn't show up so well in the pdfs though.
The spectrum book does look good.. which is a relief since it cost £25 ;-) It also smells good.. i think its good... im not sure. i feel funny..

It is also more readable than the c64 pdf's so if they will appear the same, then great. I wonder though, does having white on black background increase the printing cost?
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Post by andrew_rollings »

exobuzz wrote:
andrew_rollings wrote: I have to say though (with all modesty!) the speccy book looks fantastic in print... It doesn't show up so well in the pdfs though.
The spectrum book does look good.. which is a relief since it cost £25 ;-) It also smells good.. i think its good... im not sure. i feel funny..
Don't use in an enclosed space ;)
exobuzz wrote: It is also more readable than the c64 pdf's so if they will appear the same, then great. I wonder though, does having white on black background increase the printing cost?
Yeah it does, but it looks great... I think it's worth it...
I may do a complete redesign for the C64 book though... It depends how well I do at learning Adobe InDesign.

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Post by merman »

The Spectrum Book is most excellent...

...but the C64 one is going to be GREAT. New-look website online today. Get pre-ordering! :D
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Post by piku »

I never owned a C64, but I've just ordered the Spectrum book :)

Beginning to wish I'd not binned all my old magazines now.
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Post by merman »

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, but moving house has made progress a little tricky...

However, I'm pleased to say that the text is now 99% done and we have a sample chapter up on the Web for people to look at!

Go to:

http://www.c64goldenyears.com/sample/1982_web.pdf


and any feedback would be welcome!
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Post by TwistedScrote »

Fantastic Merman.... and I'm bagging a copy for sure!

Lovely layout and nice punchy text. Well done chap!


I also like the use of colour there as well! :D
Dont force it up.... you'll break my heart.
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Post by andrew_rollings »

TwistedScrote wrote:Fantastic Merman.... and I'm bagging a copy for sure!

Lovely layout and nice punchy text. Well done chap!


I also like the use of colour there as well! :D
Yay!!! Thanks for the nice comments :)

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Post by hype »

This credit card is already registered in your PayPal account. Use "Update" button if you want to update existing credit card information.

... where is the fucking update button then?
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Post by andrew_rollings »

hype wrote:This credit card is already registered in your PayPal account. Use "Update" button if you want to update existing credit card information.

... where is the fucking update button then?
Good question... Paypal did that to me a while back... Confused the hell out of me.

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Post by juice »

Well... I've finally given in after a long while of resisting, and ordered the Speccy book :D

(On a related note - £7.50 postage? I assume that's due to the cost of shipping from the states, but wouldn't it have made more sense to bulk-ship a batch over and then send them out separately, with lower postage? Admittedly, there's then the risk of the books not selling, but the high postage cost is the main thing which put me off buying it for so long)

Out of interest: given that the print runs are so limited, is there any chance that the books will be released as PDFs once the books are all sold, or are you reserving the right to do a re-print at some point?

I'll have to wait and see for the C64 book - I had a C128 (at the time when the ST and Amiga had risen to prominence) and I've got a breadbox C64 in a cupboard with a large box full of games, but it's never really twanged the nostagia nerve in the same way as the Speccy has done. Some of the games in the PDF review also seem to be a bit of an odd choice - though this may well be because I missed the golden age and therefore have no idea as to why these games are meant to be special :lol:
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Post by andrew_rollings »

juice wrote:Well... I've finally given in after a long while of resisting, and ordered the Speccy book :D

(On a related note - £7.50 postage? I assume that's due to the cost of shipping from the states, but wouldn't it have made more sense to bulk-ship a batch over and then send them out separately, with lower postage? Admittedly, there's then the risk of the books not selling, but the high postage cost is the main thing which put me off buying it for so long)
Actually, I did... They were available from the RetroGamer online shop for a while... until they sold out from there.
juice wrote: Out of interest: given that the print runs are so limited, is there any chance that the books will be released as PDFs once the books are all sold, or are you reserving the right to do a re-print at some point?
I'm currently investigating what to do about that... I've very nearly run out of the ZX Spectrum books as it is (last two boxes) so I'm trying to figure out what to do next...
juice wrote: I'll have to wait and see for the C64 book - I had a C128 (at the time when the ST and Amiga had risen to prominence) and I've got a breadbox C64 in a cupboard with a large box full of games, but it's never really twanged the nostagia nerve in the same way as the Speccy has done. Some of the games in the PDF review also seem to be a bit of an odd choice - though this may well be because I missed the golden age and therefore have no idea as to why these games are meant to be special :lol:
Join the club :) But Merman says they're representative in one way or the other... That doesn't mean they have to be good games though...

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Post by merman »

The two books complement each other... yes, just buy the Commodore Book and you will eliminate all that Speccy bias in your life ;)
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Post by craigt »

Bah. I couldn't resist any longer. I ordered the Spectrum book over the weekend :D
merman wrote:The two books complement each other... yes, just buy the Commodore Book and you will eliminate all that Speccy bias in your life
Somehow, I just can't see that happening ;)
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Post by fog »

Awesome chaps. I never had a Spectrum but the book was superb so, as a Commodore fanboy, I can't wait for the C64 one.

Already looking forward to the Amiga book :wink:
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