Completely Annotated Rules - work in progress!

[Joff]

It looks OK, Matt. I liked the shaded pages, but plain does not really detract from the look of the book. Not sure about an A5 version though. I print my copy double sided on A4 and have it covered and spiral bound (by a local printer). An A5 version would be OK, as long as I get the double sided printing correct , but it would then have to be guillotined down to size. I would then probably have difficulty in getting it bound the same way.

One of the biggest problems that I found with CAR is the length of time it takes to print off (Windows with a Laser and Inkjet printer). It spends some time (quite a long time, actually) flattening each page before it prints. Having said that, I have not attempted to print off version 4.1 as yet, so do not know if the speed issue is better with the removal of the shaded background. I can't really comment on the graphic quality untill I see a print off. I think though, like Scott, that I'll wait for the HiG questions to be answered and also the Consort expansion to be incorporated before attempting a reprint.

[mjharper]

I intentionally didn't include those corrections, for various reasons:

Page 6, Paragraph 1, Line 3 - the word "website" should actually be two words: "web site".

"Website" is fine. According to The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, "Internet users unite in preferring 'website' for a location on the World Wide Web." It does note that dictionaries tend to prefer 'web site'. However, my New Oxford Dictionary of English, which was too new to be taken account of when the Guide was written, uses 'website'. That's true for both the book, and the built-in version on my Mac (which is supposedly the New Oxford American Dictionary), which lists it as one of several possibilities. In the end, both are okay; I chose to stick with my Oxford and internet convention.
Incidentally—for anyone who's interested—there's a similar situation with 'email'. Most dictionaries list 'e-mail' as preferred, although internet convention is 'email'. The 1st edition of the New Oxford (1998) used 'e-mail' as well, while the 2nd edition (2004) uses 'email'.

Page 8, Introduction - the word "skilful" is missing a letter: "skillful".

'Skilful' is British English, while 'skillful' is American. I've tried to adopt 'neutral' spelling where possible, but naturally I always default to B.E..

Page 35 - The RGG rules explicitly state that the "lake with volcano" tile is set aside, as opposed to the lake with city tile. A footnote should be added after the words "lake tile" in the first line of the first paragraph under the heading "Preparation".

Yeah, there's a couple of footnotes need to be added to the CAR. I don't want to change the main text unless necessary, since the document is still meant to be a translation, rather than a fully up-to-date summary. But on this pass through I wanted to get rid of the spelling mistakes (etc.) that have been pointed out. After all, v4.0 was 'beta' for 3 months. v4.1 is an bug-squashing update, if you will; it improves the last version, but doesn't add any new material. The next version will add an abundance of new material, such as rules for the 6th expansion, the 30+ FAQ, and hopefully a new layout.

I'm going to type up and PM you the River II rules from RGG just in case. Even if you already have them from someone else, it doesn't take long.

I think I'll hold off reprinting until after HiG replies to the big list of questions and the 6th expansion is added.

Best idea, really. There is more to come…

[mjharper]

It looks OK, Matt. I liked the shaded pages, but plain does not really detract from the look of the book. Not sure about an A5 version though. I print my copy double sided on A4 and have it covered and spiral bound (by a local printer). An A5 version would be OK, as long as I get the double sided printing correct , but it would then have to be guillotined down to size. I would then probably have difficulty in getting it bound the same way.

Well, I'm playing with a custom size at the moment, which is smaller than A5 so that it should  print onto US letter format. Also, this would be intended to print two pages to one sheet, or, if you will, two 'columns'. I get the impression that a number of people would prefer it that way. But also it should reduce 'dead space' and—this is the main aim—allow the footnotes to be at the bottom of the page, rather that at the section end.

One of the biggest problems that I found with CAR is the length of time it takes to print off (Windows with a Laser and Inkjet printer). It spends some time (quite a long time, actually) flattening each page before it prints. Having said that, I have not attempted to print off version 4.1 as yet, so do not know if the speed issue is better with the removal of the shaded background. I can't really comment on the graphic quality untill I see a print off. I think though, like Scott, that I'll wait for the HiG questions to be answered and also the Consort expansion to be incorporated before attempting a reprint.

I've never tried printing them out, but my guess is that the graphics are to blame. I've already made one switch in the graphics—from tiff to png—but I'm going to try to reduce the graphics still more in the draft. Have to see how that goes.

Definitely, printing v.4.1 is not advised…

[mjharper]

Okay, here's a example PDF of the kind of thing I'm thinking of: download here.

Removing the shaded background meant I could go jpg on the graphics, and they were reduced before putting them in the actual document.

Feedback please!

[Joff]

I have no problem with the look. I always prefer footnotes on the actual page, instead of at the end of the chapter of a book. Apart from a bit of formatting work (for example, "A canny tile-laying game for 2 to 6 players aged 8 and above by Klaus-Jürgen Wrede" needing to be on 1 line and the "released in 2000" should be smaller text, I know it is just to give us an idea, Matt ) it is fine. It seems to flatten faster if one is going to print a hardcopy, and can be read easily in 'A5' size as well as be printed clearly in 'A4' size without any loss in quality. One thing I did find is that when I sent it from Acrobat to my printer (my printer using A4 paper), printing 'Multiple pages per sheet', it reduces even further than the original size and the margins (printed at 2 pages on A4) would be ok on odd pages for binding purposes (hole punching), but no good on even pages (this might be due to the document properties - see below). That aside, I would personally print them at A4 size anyway.

Is your document size wrong, Matt? The document properties say 5.50" x 8.26". The 8.26" is A5 but the width for A5 should be 5.82". This might be the reason for the odd margin widths when using standard A4 paper!

[mjharper]

Thanks for the tests! Just what I needed to know.

Strange that Acrobat reduces the size further. Have to work out something there.

The page sizes are intentional (sorry, some of the discussion took place on another thread)

Basically, given the following dimensions:

• A4 is 20.99x29.70cm
• US letter is 21.59x27.94cm

I figured that if I made a custom size of 20.99x27.94cm—width according to A4, and height according to US—then the design would fit both. If I go with A4, then it causes problems for Americans, and if I go with US letter if causes problems for Europeans. The rest of the world, I couldn't say.

Then I wanted to have two pages to a sheet—approximately A5—so I cut the height in half, to 13. 97cm. So, in the end, the pages are as high as a A4 is wide, and half as wide as US letter is high. It should fit both sizes without any resizing, which is why the Acrobat behaviour is odd.

This is all just kicking ideas around, and it may be better to go with a standard size in the end…

A useful addition to the CAR might be an explanation of this (if we stick with the size) instructions for printing it out.

[Joff]

I understand. You can get Acrobat to centre the 2 pages on a printout, but that does cause a margin problem, as previously stated. The more I look at the 'A5' format though, the more I like it! Of course, it is good to know that it can be printed at full 'A4' size.

Perhaps a thought is that we can all become one through a 'New World Order', and we can all adopt the standard A4 format? Mind you, us Brits don't like the kg's or the Euro, for that matter. Thanks probably a discussion for another forum

Edit: I could read the pages quite clearly with the Acrobat 'mysterious' reduction (which something tells me it is to do with the 'print area'), so that wasn't a major issue (It does not reduce by much), but the margin sizes were.

[mjharper]

The problem with the custom design is it will cause (minor?) problems for everyone, while if I go with A4/A5 it will cause bigger problems for the Americans. On the other hand, sticking with a familiar size means that everyone knows what to expect… Have to see how everyone else feels about it.

I think the ~A5 size is good. There have been repeated requests over the last couple of years to make the CAR a size that will conveniently fit into the box, which is perfectly reasonable. And the smaller column size means that the footnotes should fit as well, which is better in every way. So if it scales up to A4 and looks good, then that's great.

Re the New World Order… that would be cool. It would really make life much easier. I'm not to bothered about the Euro—but I don't think currency has much to do with identity, unlike a certain British politician a couple of years back—but I do prefer kilos and centimetres to pounds and inches. Been out of the UK for too long, and now I have to really think to do the conversion…

Hey, and we could all drive on the same side, too 

[Joff]

Ok, so it's not very good for my "carbon footprint", so to speak, but (and I really need 4 pages to check... that's a hint, Matt ) I think you can print at A5 size by only putting 1 sheet to a page by selecting 'Booklet Printing' in Acrobat. This would solve the margin issue (at the expense of a tree!), but would mean work with a guillotine

On the other note, I actually was taught at school in Centimeters for length and Pounds for weight... and of course, Pounds for money

[mjharper]

I'll get a couple more pages done in a later today. Promise.

Maybe we should issue a call for help to all UK and US Acrobat experts?

I don't use it, don't need it, don't want it (typical Mac snob)…

[mjharper]

Okay, done another two pages… page 3 is heavy on footnotes, page 4 is heavy on graphics, so the overall impression is perhaps more rounded.

Here's the link again (same as before).

[Joff]

Ok, just done a quick test run. The flattening procedure is quite quick. Much, much quicker, in fact.

As we thought, the margins are a real pain, especially when you need to print both sides of the paper (the margins don't match up then!).

I tried the page scaling on 'none' and attempted to print 'odd pages only'. No problem. However, when you try to print on the opposite side of the odd pages the even pages either print 'on the wrong side' or are upside-down on the reverse of the odd pages (if you can understand me). This is also the case for 'Booklet printing'. So at present the margin issue is unresolved when printing on both sides of the paper. If anyone finds out how this can be done easily, let us know.

[Gantry]

In my testing, here we don't have actual A4 or A5 paper sizes available, so using NA standard letter size (8.5x11) paper, I tried to go into my print dialog to see what would happen if I chose A4 or A5.

My printer (an HP PSC 2175, very basic all-in-one inkjet) has a conversion capability built into the printer driver.  This means that no matter what the actual original size is, A4 or A5, it can convert the document to letter size or whatever paper size I have.  HPs are very common printers, and I imagine that most brands will also have this functionality.

I would think that if you do 2 pages to a sheet on A4 or A5, or if you used a custom size, it might get a bit more difficult however.

If you create one test page in A4 and also in A5, I can test those right away using the HP driver using NA standard sizes.


PS - UGH... i'm getting my testing a little mixed up.  Tried the latest 5.5 x 8.3 size.  Flattening is extremely quick as Joff noted.  Detail of graphics is good, even in the small footnote tile images. Even in fastdraft (lowest quality) it is good, although the small scale footnote tiles are a bit hard to discern details at times.

[Joff]

There is no problem printing at A4 (I'm in UK), but it's when it comes to printing it in it's A5 size the problems come. There is difficulty with the margins when you print at 2 pages per sheet. When you only print one A5 page to a sheet, you can't print on the reverse of the page as it's either upside-down (in relation to the other page) or on the wrong side of the reverse. Adobe Reader does not provide functionality to 'force' it to the other side for reverse printing.

I have a Lexmark printer which does not provide the function your HP does... or at least, I haven't found it yet 

[mjharper]

Okay, here's an A5 version…