January Videochat Update

[Ross Scott]

This is a blog post. To read the original post, please click here »

 

Hey everyone, in the interest of giving everyone enough notice, I wanted to announce the next videochat will be at 4PM EST on January 3rd. It will be on twitch again, located here:

 

http://www.twitch.tv/rossbroadcast/

 

I may switch and use a different videochat service later on, but I need more time to test other ones and I wanted to make the announcement ASAP to give people plenty of notice.

 

Upon user suggestions, this next chat will be more structured than the previous ones. I'll start out with announcements again, but then I'll start answering questions or discuss topics that people can submit ahead of time. If there's something you'd like to hear me talk about, either leave a post in the comments to this post, or else email [email protected] with your question or topic you want discussed. I'll try and cover as many questions / topics as I can during the live chat and try to respond to any additional stuff in the chat. This is still an evolving thing, but I think will get more refined as time goes on. Also for those wondering, I'm still using my old email address for normal emails, this new one is simply for contemporary events like this.

 

In the meantime, I'm working on the videos, expect the first Christmas episode in a couple days!

 

COMMENTS

[BTGBullseye]

I hope to be able to watch it live this time!

[Zaid ValRoa]

Question time!

 

Has anyone finished Helious II?

[mimsy]

I like space shooters. Your episode on Tyrian remains one of my favorite game dungeons.

 

Do you have a preference/opinion on vertical vs. horizontal vs. Rail shooters (ala Star Fox)? In light of your episode on 3D-ness in gaming, do you think that emerging 3D tech has the potential to revitalize these genres?

[Fric]

Did you consider using YouTube for live broadcasts? I haven't used it for broadcasting but there a few good points for it e.g:

1) most people follow you on YouTube, not on twitch, therefore they may accidentally notice that you are broadcasting on YouTube; as I see it you have 1278 followers on twitch and 127k subscribers on YouTube. Speaking from my own experience - I missed the last one because I forgot about it and I rarely use twitch but in the mean time I could be one of those 127k using YouTube at that moment and might accidentally come across that you are LIVE.

2) from what I have heard from streamers - they only use twitch because of the customization - addons, subscriptions etc etc - therefore if you are not planning on using those things and use it just from time to time for a video chat - do you really need twitch? If you would do LIVE gaming that would be different.

3) I'm not sure of this one but could it be that broadcasting on YouTube is a little less of a hustle in terms of video uploading afterwards? Doesn't YouTube automatically offer the option to make the recording available afterwards at the channel?

 

 

 

 

As for questions for the video chat:

 

I know the movie is your dream and a priority - but have you ever at some point considered making some sort of a game (same as the movie, it most likely would be a collective effort too)? With engines like Unreal 4 and Unity being free (well Unity isn't really that free, it has some pro mode for money) and your experience with machinima and modding that wouldn't sound anymore ambitious than a full length feature machinima movie.

[RobStar]

Makes me feel good all over.

[JohnTitor]

What do you think about Ukraine, Ross?

Also, what do you think of visual novels, have you ever read/plaved some?

[Heliocentrical]

Are you going to take any requests for the Game Dungeon? I don't think I've seen you use the suggestions on these forums so I thought it might be worth asking. It's perfectly fine if you don't want to take requests. I just want to know ahead of time if you will or not before I submit my suggestions because if you don't take requests my suggestions are kinda pointless.

 

Also what can your audience in general do to support the movie?

[BTGBullseye]

Are you going to take any requests for the Game Dungeon? I don't think I've seen you use the suggestions on these forums so I thought it might be worth asking.

I fully support this.

[Ross Scott]

Did you consider using YouTube for live broadcasts? I haven't used it for broadcasting but there a few good points for it e.g:

1) most people follow you on YouTube, not on twitch, therefore they may accidentally notice that you are broadcasting on YouTube; as I see it you have 1278 followers on twitch and 127k subscribers on YouTube. Speaking from my own experience - I missed the last one because I forgot about it and I rarely use twitch but in the mean time I could be one of those 127k using YouTube at that moment and might accidentally come across that you are LIVE.

2) from what I have heard from streamers - they only use twitch because of the customization - addons, subscriptions etc etc - therefore if you are not planning on using those things and use it just from time to time for a video chat - do you really need twitch? If you would do LIVE gaming that would be different.

3) I'm not sure of this one but could it be that broadcasting on YouTube is a little less of a hustle in terms of video uploading afterwards? Doesn't YouTube automatically offer the option to make the recording available afterwards at the channel?

I haven't had time to research much. I think my main concern with Youtube was that if there were lots of people, comments might fly by too fast and I wouldn't be able to read them in time before they were purged. With twitch I can have it connect to IRC so that I can take comments at my own pace if I need to.

[Fric]

Did you consider using YouTube for live broadcasts? I haven't used it for broadcasting but there a few good points for it e.g:

1) most people follow you on YouTube, not on twitch, therefore they may accidentally notice that you are broadcasting on YouTube; as I see it you have 1278 followers on twitch and 127k subscribers on YouTube. Speaking from my own experience - I missed the last one because I forgot about it and I rarely use twitch but in the mean time I could be one of those 127k using YouTube at that moment and might accidentally come across that you are LIVE.

2) from what I have heard from streamers - they only use twitch because of the customization - addons, subscriptions etc etc - therefore if you are not planning on using those things and use it just from time to time for a video chat - do you really need twitch? If you would do LIVE gaming that would be different.

3) I'm not sure of this one but could it be that broadcasting on YouTube is a little less of a hustle in terms of video uploading afterwards? Doesn't YouTube automatically offer the option to make the recording available afterwards at the channel?

I haven't had time to research much. I think my main concern with Youtube was that if there were lots of people, comments might fly by too fast and I wouldn't be able to read them in time before they were purged. With twitch I can have it connect to IRC so that I can take comments at my own pace if I need to.

 

YouTube LIVE chat is deleted after x amount of time or y amount of messages? I wasn't aware of that.

[Heliocentrical]

Ross I know you've had issues running older games on newer hardware. Have you considered getting a dedicated old games PC? I was thinking you could consult with Clint from Lazy Game Reviews about whats doable for your given situation.

[Presence]

Ross I know you've had issues running older games on newer hardware. Have you considered getting a dedicated old games PC? I was thinking you could consult with Clint from Lazy Game Reviews about whats doable for your given situation.

 

I asked him this during the last chat. His answer was basically "I'd prefer to not have to. It might break, and I want to cover things people don't need a specialized box for."

 

Ross, I'd like to know if you have any feelings about Vectrex. The IP holder alone deserves some heavy praise, but I always thought it was a cool system in and of itself. It was a one trick pony, but kind of a neat one if you like vector graphics.

[Ross Scott]

YouTube LIVE chat is deleted after x amount of time or y amount of messages? I wasn't aware of that.

I haven't seen any indicator it isn't. Do a test. Find the most popular Youtube livechat you can, where people are messaging every couple seconds. When you enter, make a note of the message at the top. Wait about 10-15 minutes, then scroll up to the top and see if that message is still there or if it's a new one. That was my test for Twitch, which it failed without IRC.

 

Ross I know you've had issues running older games on newer hardware. Have you considered getting a dedicated old games PC?

It's more of a philosophical thing, I think I'll talk about this when a do a followup episode to Dungeon Siege.

[marem]

hey ross, i am struggling with my finances right now. can u give me some advice on how to manage finances a bit more efficiently (i.e. how to spend less on food,i don't like beans that much), it would be really helpful

[Presence]

hey ross, i am struggling with my finances right now. can u give me some advice on how to manage finances a bit more efficiently (i.e. how to spend less on food,i don't like beans that much), it would be really helpful

 

There's not a lot of foods that are cheap, filling, healthy, and tasty. Try lentils if you don't care for beans. Mussels can be cheap IF you live near a coast. Canned sardines can be safely eaten long term if you like them. Nuts, especially peanuts and peanut butter can also be surprisingly cheap calories. Eggs are pricier but not terrible for you.

 

This probably belongs in some other thread though, unless Ross wants to have a finance section in his chat. In which case, I'm definitely a fan of rewards credit cards. Problem is you can only get em if you don't need em. For what it's worth I get 2-6% back on everything via cards.

[HLPrincess]

hey ross, i am struggling with my finances right now. can u give me some advice on how to manage finances a bit more efficiently (i.e. how to spend less on food,i don't like beans that much), it would be really helpful

If you have access to sour kraut (one made of natural fermentation, not with vinegar added), I recommend eating it. It's cheap and it contains lots of vitamin C and other necessary stuff. It's also moderately filling and gives you healthy gut bacteria.

[BTGBullseye]

I'm definitely a fan of rewards credit cards. Problem is you can only get em if you don't need em. For what it's worth I get 2-6% back on everything via cards.

I'm one of those people that doesn't like going in debt every time I buy something, then has to pay (with interest) to get out of that debt. Rewards cards are just a lower interest card when you get down to it, you're still paying the card company more than if you just used the free debit card from your bank.

[Presence]

I'm one of those people that doesn't like going in debt every time I buy something, then has to pay (with interest) to get out of that debt. Rewards cards are just a lower interest card when you get down to it, you're still paying the card company more than if you just used the free debit card from your bank.

 

I've paid credit card interest twice in twenty years, both times because I did something insanely stupid. Aside from those two times, no never. I understand the sentiment about debt though. Like I said, you can only use rewards cards if you don't need them. Basically makes it impossible for me to get excited about them.

 

"Hey, so if you use this one for 50 years, a year of your life will have been paid for just by...oh...massive debt? Still paying it off? Your mom ruined your credit rating? How? Oh, I see. Well, uh, I'm going to get some junkfood, want anything from McDonalds? Yes I'll loan you the cash."

 

True story. Kind of stopped trying after that. So, yep. Lentils. Canned Sardines. Good stuff.

 

Edit: I hope I'm not coming across as nasty here. I know I've been lucky and I don't think less of those who have been unlucky. Also this prrrooobably should go in another thread.

[HLPrincess]

 

Edit: I hope I'm not coming across as nasty here. I know I've been lucky and I don't think less of those who have been unlucky. Also this prrrooobably should go in another thread.

 

Not at all. Ross is ready to reply to questions on survival as well! We can discuss how to save your money, this is a thread for all kinds of questions. and I think savings are actually an important topic.