The Return of Loaded Dice!

[t_catt11]

After a string of bad events in real life (see episode #44 if you want the details) - which include us having to get a new artist - Loaded Dice has returned!

We now resume our twice weekly schedule of D&D humor, bad puns, and one liners that make you cringe. But with sparkly new art!

[PhantomFox]

Sparkly indeed. It is infinitely superior to the old art. No more stock poses!

[t_catt11]

Glad you like it!

Indeed, you will see more variation with this artist. It also helps that she is a seasoned DM... so she has some connection to the material.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Sweet! I knew being patient would pay off!

[t_catt11]

Had a small hiccup last week (new artist is having major wacom tablet issues and having to borrow gear to get things done), but we did post a guest strip.

New regular strip is up today. Check it out - we have varying perspective, cool backgrounds... real art!

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Looks good, and the story(ies) is/are progressing nicely! Lookinf forward to the next one!

[t_catt11]

Thanks for the support. We seem to be getting into a nice groove again.

We'll be to issue #50 before you know it!

[t_catt11]

Had to post... today's strip is not a regular one, but an episode of recurring guest filler series called RPG Myth Breakers. This episode looks at the comparative value of the beloved chain mail bikini in fantasy - you ought to check it out.

[t_catt11]

Huh... I'm getting traffic from this thread, but no posts. Let me know what you think - good, bad, and ugly.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Love the group dynamics, and the layered story, and bouncing between the players and the charachters. Reminds me of Larry Niven/Steven Barnes' Dream Park novels.

[t_catt11]

Thanks for the kind words! Feel free to express the not so kind ones, too - we are still rookies at this, and we know that we make mistakes.

If you enjoy Loaded Dice, but get annoyed with our erratic update schedule, you can always become a fan on facebook or bookmark the rss feed.

[t_catt11]

Forgive me for being a bump monkey, but I had to share that Loaded Dice just hit a neat little milestone - regular strip #50. Sure, it's tiny compared to the greats out there, but we're beginning to have a decent archive.

[t_catt11]

For those who have enjoyed them, we have posted another of our serial filler/guest series - a.k.a. RPG Myth Breakers. Today's episode deals with players who try to have their characters sneak around while wearing armor.

[Domochevsky]

"This domain is for sale". You may want to add another "n" somewhere in there.

(Also: the red background, it burns ussss... @_@ )

[t_catt11]

Whoops, how embarassing!

Thanks for the catch.

[t_catt11]

Is it acceptable for me to chirp that we have a cool new logo? I was never happy with the old one... felt lilke a motorcycle club logo to me.

The new one is pretty darned cool, if I do say so myself.

[Surfing HalfOrc]

Yeah, been there... The Half-Orc pirate, the main muscle for a team who had taken over the PC's employer's home, and were holding her hostage? A Natural 20, followed by ANOTHER 20! Big fight, lots of blood? Didn't happen. The half-orc went down like the Hindenberg...

Oh well. At least I am still three for three with the Savage Dynechous! (Yeah, I know I misspelled that...)

[t_catt11]

LOL @ Hindenberg. Poor Steve could sympathize.

Funny, I got more hate/dislike/critical mail over the last issue (where Steve was basically forced to narrate an event he'd rather gloss over) than just about any in the series. Does this mean that my writing has started to suck (worse?), or that we're getting more readers, and thus, more criticism?

Or is this simly a statistical anomaly?

I dunno. New episode coming Thursday/Friday (depening on Lyra).

[Bongos]

Hard to believe you got hate mail for a comic?

Those poor barbarians, so abused and misunderstood.

[Glass Mouse]

Heh. I just read through the entire archive, and there are some really good strips in there. I especially enjoy when Steve joins the party's planning - I do that to my own players from time to time

For the current strip, I initially thought that the black-and-white panel was a flashback. That's the effect that huge style differences make. The artist would have gotten a way better "dread" feel if she had just toned down the colours. Sometimes subtle is better.

Some more "harsh" words... hmm... I think the characters could have more distinct personalities. Especially Ray and blonde dude (sorry, I don't remember his name). Personally, I really enjoy when the comic plays on the characters' personalities, seeing as they're kinda archetypical (without being stereotypical - it's a sweet balance you've hit with the rest, actually).
In general, you seem to have toned down their personalities (and quirks) in favor of story-driven jokes. It's a matter of personal taste, of course, I just personally love more character-driven humour, and I'd be sad to see their quirks disappear completely

Oh yeah, and the newer artist is great! Nice drawings, lots of playing with composition and angles, expressive body language. It's great to see!
Sometimes the heads are a bit too small, but oh well (yeah, I know, who am I to talk, but still... )

I hope it's okay I threw in some constructive critisism. It's all subjective, of course, but I hope you can use a bit of it

Out of curiousity, what kind of hate mail did you get for the "Humble Pie Steve" page? I thought it was funny.

[Asthix]

I as well have now read through your archive. I like the large print used since the new artist took over since I'm not the greatest at seeing things.

There was only one comic where I didn't follow the progression and that was because of a narration box placed at the bottom of the panel. ('I see a trend', panel 5) Otherwise nice layout.

In the recent comic 'Twisted mind of the DM', I agree that dread was not accurately conveyed. An appropriate use of black and white to covey such dread might have been a close up of the DM's face with toothy grin. If you go for that kind of stylization again, consider having the dialogue coming from off panel, with someone in panel reacting the way we should feel?

Finally the puns. I think its so brave that you have a character who not only uses them, but likes using them.
Overall, I was entertained.

[t_catt11]

Thanks so much for both the kind words AND for the criticism!

I will absolutely take the observation under advisement that I may be letting the humor drift away from the players, and I will do my best to ensure that everyone maintains a distinct personality. Brad (blonde haired guy) and Ray do have similar personalities, but Brad is shorter tempered and a bit more dense; I need to make better distinctions, I can see that.

In the beginning, panel layout was a real challenge for us. The artist would draw in a vacuum, without thinking about the need for text space or location.... and I would make mistakes when lettering. I believe that we have come a very long way in this area; I would really consider going back and fixing some of the old, bad text issues.

The bit on the art experimentation on the last strip is well understood; Lyra (the artist) herself was very unhappy with it. Cest la via... she tried something and it didn't work. Other things she has done (experimenting with the camera angles) have done quite well.

The hate mail? More of the "the writing is stupid and completely unfunny", "the characters are stupid", "the plot is so boring" than we have ever gotten before. Good to know that not everyone feels that way.

[Glass Mouse]

In the beginning, panel layout was a real challenge for us. The artist would draw in a vacuum, without thinking about the need for text space or location.... and I would make mistakes when lettering. I believe that we have come a very long way in this area; I would really consider going back and fixing some of the old, bad text issues.

I noticed this as well. I didn't mention it because my post was long enough already, but yeah... The page layouts have gotten a lot better over time (/with the new artist)

I'm glad you listened to my character-humour critique. In a way, character quircks is what drives conflict and jokes (especially in a comic like this). Make the characters agree and all like each other, and things start to get dull

That sucks with the hatemail. The least people could do if they're taking the time to write an email, is to write something constructive. I'll never understand mindless whining.

[t_catt11]

As for the haters? Meh. I don't understand the draw of internet trolling, but some gleefully participate in this every day. If they don't like the comic, it;s not like there aren't hundreds (thousands) of others out there.

That being said, both Lyra and I are committed to constantly improving - constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcomed.

Also, if ya care, we posted a fun little filler comic today... check it out. :)

[Flickerdart]

Fools! Why would a breast weapon have a save?

[t_catt11]

Heh, good question, Flickerdart.

New comic is up, and now near this announcement: Loaded Dice has surpassed half a million total page views. Yeah, that's small potatoes for the big comics, but a cool milestone for us!

[Asthix]

I like panel 3. That is teh art.

[t_catt11]

Thanks! My artist is amazing.

[Tydude]

Just want to say I've been reading your comic since the beginning, and really enjoy it. Keep up the good work!

[t_catt11]

I know that lots of people say it, and while I can't speak for them, I *mean* this - I really appreciate every single reader that we have!

Thanks again.