SGDQ Thoughts and Suggestions

mikwuyma

Edit history:

mikwuyma: 2011-08-19 05:31:25 pm

2011-08-19 05:28:46 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

Okay before I say anything, I am well-aware we want an IRC solution for the next marathon. Fortunately, CyberbotX has already been looking into it and has a server (or maybe it's his friend) that handles up to 7k bots, so prospects are looking good.

I'm glad this marathon was quite the success, especially since it was a big x-factor going in. None of us really knew how the commentary, setup, and donations would work before SGDQ started, but fortunately it all worked out in the end. Everyone looked like they were in a tight-knit group, SMK's new donation tracker looked like it worked wonders, and overall the commentary was entertaining and lively, especially when Brossentia and Spikevegeta were there. Honestly, the suggestions and criticisms I have are pretty light because the marathon ran so smoothly.

Some things I'm not going to criticize because they can't be helped:

Stream testing and PC game preparedness: I'm aware that Tranquilite's car broke down so he couldn't come until the day the marathon started, so stream testing couldn't happen until a couple hours before the marathon. I'm also aware most of the PC games couldn't be tested before SGDQ started because most of the PC runners weren't on-site at the moment. Fortunately, these shouldn't be a factor for the next AGDQ and we should be able to test all or at least most of the PC games before we go live.

The internet hiccups: Nothing can really be done about hiccuping internet. Sad

If it happens, it happens and the show must go on. There's always going to be a technical difficulty or two (or more) during a marathon.

The first one is more directed at me I guess. Next time I need to just make the schedule Eastern time. A lot of people were confused about the Mountain Time Zone, including me. I know I screwed up the schedule a couple of times (I usually fixed it within a couple of minutes though). I can easily make a copy of the schedule in Mountain Time for the people on site.

We didn't plug ourselves and the charity enough. While a lot of people watching are regulars, there are still a lot of people who pop in and out who don't know who we are or the charity we're supporting. I know Arrow did a great job of keeping people informed, and romscout did it from time to time too, but there were hours when nothing was mentioned about us or the charity.

The cross-talk got pretty bad at times. I know it was a problem during AGDQ at times, but it seemed more frequent for this marathon. It was definitely at its worst during Castle Crashers. I couldn't make out half of what people were saying. I do have to say this cross-talk problem justifies using a similarly-sized meeting room as the last AGDQ.

Don't interrupt the runner when they're trying to talk! This generally wasn't a problem, but I remember everyone was being a interrupter jones when Dunnius was trying to talk during his Metal Gear run.

Speaking of Castle Crashers, I think the 8-man race was a much better idea in theory than it was in execution. Not really a big deal since we won't be doing Castle Crashers again for a long time.

Schedule schedule schedule! Just kidding. The schedule worked out great this time, and the only suggestion I received was romscout telling me to insert more setup hours, which I was already going to do for the AGDQ schedule (I'm currently thinking 4 right now).

That's really about it. Like I said earlier, my list of criticisms is small, and you guys did a great job.

Thread title:

Okay before I say anything, I am well-aware we want an IRC solution for the next marathon. Fortunately, CyberbotX has already been looking into it and has a server (or maybe it's his friend) that handles up to 7k bots, so prospects are looking good.

I'm glad this marathon was quite the success, especially since it was a big x-factor going in. None of us really knew how the commentary, setup, and donations would work before SGDQ started, but fortunately it all worked out in the end. Everyone looked like they were in a tight-knit group, SMK's new donation tracker looked like it worked wonders, and overall the commentary was entertaining and lively, especially when Brossentia and Spikevegeta were there. Honestly, the suggestions and criticisms I have are pretty light because the marathon ran so smoothly.

Some things I'm not going to criticize because they can't be helped:

Stream testing and PC game preparedness: I'm aware that Tranquilite's car broke down so he couldn't come until the day the marathon started, so stream testing couldn't happen until a couple hours before the marathon. I'm also aware most of the PC games couldn't be tested before SGDQ started because most of the PC runners weren't on-site at the moment. Fortunately, these shouldn't be a factor for the next AGDQ and we should be able to test all or at least most of the PC games before we go live.

The internet hiccups: Nothing can really be done about hiccuping internet. :( If it happens, it happens and the show must go on. There's always going to be a technical difficulty or two (or more) during a marathon.

The first one is more directed at me I guess. Next time I need to just make the schedule Eastern time. A lot of people were confused about the Mountain Time Zone, including me. I know I screwed up the schedule a couple of times (I usually fixed it within a couple of minutes though). I can easily make a copy of the schedule in Mountain Time for the people on site.

We didn't plug ourselves and the charity enough. While a lot of people watching are regulars, there are still a lot of people who pop in and out who don't know who we are or the charity we're supporting. I know Arrow did a great job of keeping people informed, and romscout did it from time to time too, but there were hours when nothing was mentioned about us or the charity.

The cross-talk got pretty bad at times. I know it was a problem during AGDQ at times, but it seemed more frequent for this marathon. It was definitely at its worst during Castle Crashers. I couldn't make out half of what people were saying. I do have to say this cross-talk problem justifies using a similarly-sized meeting room as the last AGDQ.

Don't interrupt the runner when they're trying to talk! This generally wasn't a problem, but I remember everyone was being a interrupter jones when Dunnius was trying to talk during his Metal Gear run.

Speaking of Castle Crashers, I think the 8-man race was a much better idea in theory than it was in execution. Not really a big deal since we won't be doing Castle Crashers again for a long time.

Schedule schedule schedule! Just kidding. The schedule worked out great this time, and the only suggestion I received was romscout telling me to insert more setup hours, which I was already going to do for the AGDQ schedule (I'm currently thinking 4 right now).

That's really about it. Like I said earlier, my list of criticisms is small, and you guys did a great job.

Darkwing Duck

Edit history:

Darkwing Duck: 2011-08-19 06:52:07 pm

2011-08-19 06:47:49 pm

Highly Evolved

Quote from mikwuyma:

The first one is more directed at me I guess. Next time I need to just make the schedule Eastern time. A lot of people were confused about the Mountain Time Zone, including me. I know I screwed up the schedule a couple of times (I usually fixed it within a couple of minutes though). I can easily make a copy of the schedule in Mountain Time for the people on site.

We printed out several copies of the schedule and pinned them up in a few places and it was much better for us at the marathon to have it in the mountain time zone. Maybe a solution when a marathon is outside the eastern time zone is to have both times.

Or all you right coast bias people could learn other time zones. Tongue

We mountaineers get no respect, I tells ya.

EDIT: i IS SMRT.

mikwuyma

2011-08-19 06:50:05 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

DW, making mountain time copies of the schedule to print out while making the schedule eastern time for everyone else is pretty much exactly what I suggested.

Darkwing Duck

2011-08-19 06:51:19 pm

Highly Evolved

Quote from mikwuyma:

DW, making mountain time copies of the schedule to print out while making the schedule eastern time for everyone else is pretty much exactly what I suggested.

Wow, hooray me for missing a complete sentence.

dballin

2011-08-19 07:02:07 pm

Balls jerky

Having both the game and commentary on the same stream solved the problem of having them go out of sync with each other but then created the problem of either one being too loud/people not wanting to hear game audio/commentary at all. We obviously can't cater to everyone at the same time, but I figure I could mention it since it did come up in the chat often enough.

mikwuyma

2011-08-19 07:18:58 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

dballin, that is true, but it seemed overall people liked the game and commentary combined because there were less syncing and screen space problems.

SMK

2011-08-19 07:23:16 pm

One thing that comes to mind is it might be worthwhile putting images of the prizes up on an easily accessible page, possibly linked from the schedule.

dballin

Edit history:

dballin: 2011-08-19 07:46:15 pm

2011-08-19 07:45:32 pm

Balls jerky

Quote from mikwuyma:

dballin, that is true, but it seemed overall people liked the game and commentary combined because there were less syncing and screen space problems.

oh im not disagreeing with that at all. Having the second stream used for bidding wars instead is a huge plus. The people at the marathon just need to be a little bit more mindful of how loud the TV is. As for people who only want one or the other: sucks 2 b u

SMK: I think that was suggested last marathon too. It's definitely a good idea.

Aftermath

Edit history:

Aftermath: 2011-08-19 07:49:56 pm

2011-08-19 07:49:38 pm

Quits halfway

The TV that we had was really bad for volume. It had two settings, barely audible or mic overpeak. We tried to read the chat to see complaints about volume levels, but the TV was the main problem there imo.

theseawolf1

2011-08-19 09:04:19 pm

SGL Scrublord

I noticed only a select few runs had pre-planned or dedicated commentators, especially for the overnight crew. Maybe having sign ups for that as well would streamline and inform the viewers a bit better about some things.

And the TV was basically full-bore or whispering. I see how it can be annoying, but part of me wonders why Ustream and JTV have volume bars on the stream since no one seems to use them Tongue

dballin

Edit history:

dballin: 2011-08-19 09:07:47 pm

2011-08-19 09:07:21 pm

Balls jerky

The TV would overpower the commentary. If you still wanted to hear what was being said, turning down the jtv volume wouldn't help!

Step 1: get a TV with better volume control Smiley

Darkwing Duck

2011-08-19 10:26:35 pm

Highly Evolved

Quote from dballin:

Step 1: get a TV with better volume control Smiley

I believe it was the TV Essentia uses for streaming all the time, and she's never really had a problem. I do think we should have swapped out that TV for one of the better ones Denton got at the DI, but by then, everything was set up and I'm sure it would've been a pain to redo all that.

One suggestion I'd like is have a special status for people in chat who are at the marathon and not mods. Or maybe for SDA members in chat that aren't mods. I think I'd prefer the former since there were some SDA members in chat that weren't entirely civil from what I heard. I don't know if that's possible with JustinTV, though.

Essentia

2011-08-19 11:41:09 pm

Everything's better with Magitek

Quote from Darkwing Duck:

I believe it was the TV Essentia uses for streaming all the time, and she's never really had a problem. I do think we should have swapped out that TV for one of the better ones Denton got at the DI, but by then, everything was set up and I'm sure it would've been a pain to redo all that.

Yes, that's the same TV that I use for streaming. That's weird - I didn't know that there were issues with the volume during the marathon, and I've never really had a problem with it. Could part of the problem have been that the microphone on the video recorder was so close to the TV?

Also, anyone who attended the marathon, feel free to make suggestions about things here at the house (food, sleeping arrangements, etc.). If we do SGDQ here again next year, I'd like to know what could be improved.

Darkwing Duck

Edit history:

Darkwing Duck: 2011-08-19 11:47:43 pm

2011-08-19 11:47:29 pm

Highly Evolved

Quote from Essentia:

Also, anyone who attended the marathon, feel free to make suggestions about things here at the house (food, sleeping arrangements, etc.). If we do SGDQ here again next year, I'd like to know what could be improved.

lol.

Maybe ambrosia would make it better, but that's all I can think of at the moment. Maybe more magnet letters for the fridge..

Great choice of dinner choices. I wasn't there for breakfast except once, and it was french toast, which was great. Maybe some healthier snack choices?

UraniumAnchor

2011-08-20 12:11:50 am

Not a walrus

...less sugar, maybe? I'm pretty sure I drank more soda over SGDQ than I did the entire month of July.

But that's not a real complaint.

pevergreen

Edit history:

pevergreen: 2011-08-20 12:39:40 am

2011-08-20 12:39:22 am

From what I saw, I liked.

My only area for imporvement was the L4D2 run.

A 4 player co op game like that does require a bit of communication, not a ton, but having our fourth swapped out didn't help that.

We would have been able to deal with not hearing Kubel at all a bit better than when he was trying to speak, it drowning out the rest of us so badly i couldn't even hear ingame sound.
I do understand it was the graveyard shift, so people were tired and out of it, and it was a PC game, and the setup, and having to talk to announce donations and plug charity (the last two, I obviously didn't mind)

Some lines from the chat

(11:04:48) (fyeree) its kinda rude how they are talking all about ff while a runner is trying to play l4d, they talked about the other games run... and stayed quiet for the other people...
(11:05:32) (fyeree) im not freaking, just saying its rude
(11:05:34) (jack5mikemotown) its kinda hard for him to talk with the people there and his coop buddies at the same time
(11:05:34) (shinycelebi) I cant... >_<
(11:05:37) (thereadmenace) can't hear a word Kubel's saying...
(11:05:38) (bkbroiler) i just wish they would talk farther away from the mics. so loud
(11:06:05) (llcooldave) Is there a reason we just have a cacophony of RPG voices as commentary right now?
(11:07:47) (garluneg) This is an awesome run, but this is the low point of the stream. The people talking loudly clearly don't give 2 craps about L4D
(11:08:46) (garluneg) Since no one right next to the computer gives a damn about l4d, why are you even speedrunning it
(11:08:47) (shinycelebi) ^
(11:14:36) (garluneg) I'm literally watching with my headphones off
(11:14:42) (garluneg) This is painful to listen to
(11:15:26) (bkbroiler) i wouldn't mind listening to the guys playing. they seem enjoyable
(11:19:56) (bkbroiler) he should just keep playing L4D1 and see if anyone notices
(11:21:03) (trumontana) People around kubbles need to stop talking so much
(11:21:06) (trumontana) I mean really..
(11:21:26) (bkbroiler) i wish the runner was at least audible so i could hear him when he did talk
(11:21:55) (garluneg) I wish the game was audible, but since SDA doesn't give a *** about L4D we won't hear anything
(11:22:04) (trumontana) They're overtalking Kubelwagon...he wanted to explain a few things..
(11:22:06) (trumontana) but they wont shut up
(11:22:50) (garluneg) Notice how everyone gets LOUDER when he needs to fuocus?
(11:22:57) (garluneg) Unlike every other run
(11:23:38) (garluneg) I'm glad I'm not the only who thinks their treatment of this game is BS
(11:23:47) (trumontana) I agree with you Gar
(11:24:04) (thereadmenace) agreed, Gar... it's not new for these marathons at times...
(11:24:46) (bluecube) Ehh, kinda doubt it's intentional. I'd blame it on the fact this is happening at like WTF:AM. 'though it is a little annoying they keep talking over it.
(11:24:51) (bluecube) I just don't think it's on purpose.
(11:26:11) (trumontana) I'm also sure he wanted to talk to the guys that he's playing with...but how can you with all that chatter going on?
(11:26:39) (garluneg) I'd donate during this game to encourage you to do it again, but I don't want to encourage this behavior, so I'll wait for another game

I'm sure I'm missing an entire perspective, since I was playing and not watching the stream (still haven't watched it), but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth afterwards.

Just my 2c.

From what I saw, I liked.

My only area for imporvement was the L4D2 run.

A 4 player co op game like that does require a bit of communication, not a ton, but having our fourth swapped out didn't help that.

We would have been able to deal with not hearing Kubel at all a bit better than when he was trying to speak, it drowning out the rest of us so badly i couldn't even hear ingame sound.
I do understand it was the graveyard shift, so people were tired and out of it, and it was a PC game, and the setup, and having to talk to announce donations and plug charity (the last two, I obviously didn't mind)

Some lines from the chat
[SPOILER](11:04:48) (fyeree) its kinda rude how they are talking all about ff while a runner is trying to play l4d, they talked about the other games run... and stayed quiet for the other people...
(11:05:32) (fyeree) im not freaking, just saying its rude
(11:05:34) (jack5mikemotown) its kinda hard for him to talk with the people there and his coop buddies at the same time
(11:05:34) (shinycelebi) I cant... >_<
(11:05:37) (thereadmenace) can't hear a word Kubel's saying...
(11:05:38) (bkbroiler) i just wish they would talk farther away from the mics. so loud
(11:06:05) (llcooldave) Is there a reason we just have a cacophony of RPG voices as commentary right now?
(11:07:47) (garluneg) This is an awesome run, but this is the low point of the stream. The people talking loudly clearly don't give 2 craps about L4D
(11:08:46) (garluneg) Since no one right next to the computer gives a damn about l4d, why are you even speedrunning it
(11:08:47) (shinycelebi) ^
(11:14:36) (garluneg) I'm literally watching with my headphones off
(11:14:42) (garluneg) This is painful to listen to
(11:15:26) (bkbroiler) i wouldn't mind listening to the guys playing. they seem enjoyable
(11:19:56) (bkbroiler) he should just keep playing L4D1 and see if anyone notices
(11:21:03) (trumontana) People around kubbles need to stop talking so much
(11:21:06) (trumontana) I mean really..
(11:21:26) (bkbroiler) i wish the runner was at least audible so i could hear him when he did talk
(11:21:55) (garluneg) I wish the game was audible, but since SDA doesn't give a *** about L4D we won't hear anything
(11:22:04) (trumontana) They're overtalking Kubelwagon...he wanted to explain a few things..
(11:22:06) (trumontana) but they wont shut up
(11:22:50) (garluneg) Notice how everyone gets LOUDER when he needs to fuocus?
(11:22:57) (garluneg) Unlike every other run
(11:23:38) (garluneg) I'm glad I'm not the only who thinks their treatment of this game is BS
(11:23:47) (trumontana) I agree with you Gar
(11:24:04) (thereadmenace) agreed, Gar... it's not new for these marathons at times...
(11:24:46) (bluecube) Ehh, kinda doubt it's intentional. I'd blame it on the fact this is happening at like WTF:AM. 'though it is a little annoying they keep talking over it.
(11:24:51) (bluecube) I just don't think it's on purpose.
(11:26:11) (trumontana) I'm also sure he wanted to talk to the guys that he's playing with...but how can you with all that chatter going on?
(11:26:39) (garluneg) I'd donate during this game to encourage you to do it again, but I don't want to encourage this behavior, so I'll wait for another game[/SPOILER]

I'm sure I'm missing an entire perspective, since I was playing and not watching the stream (still haven't watched it), but it left me with a bad taste in my mouth afterwards.

Just my 2c.

Zyre

2011-08-20 09:32:53 am

The Speedrunning Teacher

Not really a suggestion/improvement comment from me (I was only there maybe for 1/4 to 1/3 of the entire marathon), but mike mentioned in a previous thread about wanting to know how everything was set up.

Simplest answer: switchboxes. They can take up to four composite (RWY) cables and output to one line. I brought two of them with me to the marathon (only used one though Tongue

). We took a look at the schedule to see which systems were going to be used the most and kept them hooked up constantly to the switchbox. The fourth spot was for the other systems, which were all sitting there with their composite cables near the switchbox, ready to be plugged in. The switchboxes had auto-detection on them so we didn't need to switch inputs at all. Just plug in (if needed), and power on the system of choice.

After that it was just taking the output from the switchbox, putting it into the input of the powered splitter, and output to the capture card, tv, and DVR. Just need to make sure that we get the right cables into the right input/output next time. Tongue

Not really a suggestion/improvement comment from me (I was only there maybe for 1/4 to 1/3 of the entire marathon), but mike mentioned in a previous thread about wanting to know how everything was set up.

Simplest answer: switchboxes. They can take up to four composite (RWY) cables and output to one line. I brought two of them with me to the marathon (only used one though :P ). We took a look at the schedule to see which systems were going to be used the most and kept them hooked up constantly to the switchbox. The fourth spot was for the other systems, which were all sitting there with their composite cables near the switchbox, ready to be plugged in. The switchboxes had auto-detection on them so we didn't need to switch inputs at all. Just plug in (if needed), and power on the system of choice.

After that it was just taking the output from the switchbox, putting it into the input of the powered splitter, and output to the capture card, tv, and DVR. Just need to make sure that we get the right cables into the right input/output next time. :P

puwexil

2011-08-20 09:43:32 am

Professional Second Banana

Quote from theseawolf1:

I noticed only a select few runs had pre-planned or dedicated commentators, especially for the overnight crew. Maybe having sign ups for that as well would streamline and inform the viewers a bit better about some things.

I don't know if we need formal commentator scheduling, as long as runners with less mainstream games make arrangements for at least 1 person familiar with their game to be on the couch with them (ie UraniumAnchor and Darkwing Duck asked me to commentate with them since I knew their games, and I knew that there were going to be lots of KH/Square-Enix fans around for mine without needing to ask anyone specific).

P.S. thumbsup

on the new avatar/text.

Quote from Essentia:

Also, anyone who attended the marathon, feel free to make suggestions about things here at the house (food, sleeping arrangements, etc.). If we do SGDQ here again next year, I'd like to know what could be improved.

All I can really think of that hasn't already been said is having one or more people bring computers that can be dedicated to playing the stream on the bigscreen TV and/or another TV elsewhere in the house, since that makes watching the marathon from outside the streaming room more of a community experience than a bunch of people watching their own laptops.

If I bring a netbook next year for chatoping and other online stuff, I should be able to lend my HDMI laptop to the cause (minus any time that I need to use it for practicing my game, if I have a game that I need emulator states for practice).

[quote="theseawolf1"]I noticed only a select few runs had pre-planned or dedicated commentators, especially for the overnight crew. Maybe having sign ups for that as well would streamline and inform the viewers a bit better about some things.[/quote]
I don't know if we need formal commentator scheduling, as long as runners with less mainstream games make arrangements for at least 1 person familiar with their game to be on the couch with them (ie UraniumAnchor and Darkwing Duck asked me to commentate with them since I knew their games, and I knew that there were going to be lots of KH/Square-Enix fans around for mine without needing to ask anyone specific).

P.S. :thumbsup: on the new avatar/text.

[quote="Essentia"]Also, anyone who attended the marathon, feel free to make suggestions about things here at the house (food, sleeping arrangements, etc.).  If we do SGDQ here again next year, I'd like to know what could be improved.[/quote]
All I can really think of that hasn't already been said is having one or more people bring computers that can be dedicated to playing the stream on the bigscreen TV and/or another TV elsewhere in the house, since that makes watching the marathon from outside the streaming room more of a community experience than a bunch of people watching their own laptops.

If I bring a netbook next year for chatoping and other online stuff, I should be able to lend my HDMI laptop to the cause (minus any time that I need to use it for practicing my game, if I have a game that I need emulator states for practice).

feasel

Edit history:

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:27:22 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:25:54 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:24:41 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:20:23 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:18:46 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:17:58 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 01:13:45 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 12:16:22 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 12:15:03 pm

2011-08-20 12:00:52 pm

difficult and stupidly random

Quote from mikwuyma:

Speaking of Castle Crashers, I think the 8-man race was a much better idea in theory than it was in execution. Not really a big deal since we won't be doing Castle Crashers again for a long time.

Oh Casual Crashers.... I feel partially responsible, because it all started with me saying that I wanted to do an actual serious 1p speedrun of it at SGDQ - like with strategy and meticulous practice and whatnot. Then everybody wanted in. What was i to do? "No you all can't play. I called the game. It's mine mine miiiiine!". I'm not that kind of guy, so i was happy to share. But now it looks like nobody will be doing even a serious CC run at a marathon again because Castle Crashers has become synonymous with 2 hours of masturbation.

I'm not pissed about how the run turned out (I enjoyed it immensely, as did at least 7 other people). But it does bother me that Castle Crashers is now getting shit on so much, when the actual problem was we broke the cardinal marathon rule of "You have to practice the games that you're running". Well, and the fact that one team's Xbox crashed and they lost 15 minutes of progress. Sad

Mike i know that's kinda what you're saying with the "much better idea in theory than it was in execution" part. I agree. It's the "won't be doing Castle Crashers again for a long time" part that makes me sad-faced. And no that's not an appeal to change your decision -- i think you're completely right about it, that nobody wants to see CC again at a marathon. It's just sad that it got that way, because it really could have been different.

EDIT: I don't want to sound like i'm putting down any of the CC participants. Not at all. Everybody did their best given the situation. In retrospect I just think we should have coordinated better beforehand to make sure that all the individual players and both teams were having sufficient opportunity to practice and get feedback. And if not, we should have pruned it down to a 3-vs-3 or a 2-vs-2 race, or whatever we needed to do to make it a balanced race.

Regarding snacks: I'm not sure if everybody realized that there were sandwich materials available 24/7 (really good stuff, too!). But yeah, when there's a literal mountain of junk food in front of you, it's hard to not just spend all day eating candy, chips, and soda. So healthy snacks in ready-to-eat form would be awesome (emphasis on "ready-to-eat" form, because if there is any effort whatsoever involved people will just go for the Doritos). Also the variety of cereals was nice, but (other than grapenuts!) most of the cereals were basically candy. I suggest having some non-sugary cereals like plain cheerios or chex available.

Also, those sloppy joes were pretty much the best thing i've ever eaten.

And yeah, having a dedicated computer/TV outside the stream room where people can watch is a good idea. I think we all basically knew that, we just didn't plan for it explicitly which is why it didn't happen.

[quote="mikwuyma"]
Speaking of Castle Crashers, I think the 8-man race was a much better idea in theory than it was in execution. Not really a big deal since we won't be doing Castle Crashers again for a long time.
[/quote]

Oh Casual Crashers....  I feel partially responsible, because it all started with me saying that I wanted to do an actual serious 1p speedrun of it at SGDQ - like with strategy and meticulous practice and whatnot.  Then everybody wanted in.  What was i to do?  "No you all can't play. I called the game. It's mine mine miiiiine!".  I'm not that kind of guy, so i was happy to share.  But now it looks like nobody will be doing even a serious CC run at a marathon again because Castle Crashers has become synonymous with 2 hours of masturbation.

I'm not pissed about how the run turned out (I enjoyed it immensely, as did at least 7 other people).  But it does bother me that Castle Crashers is now getting shit on so much, when the actual problem was we broke the cardinal marathon rule of "You have to practice the games that you're running".  Well, and the fact that one team's Xbox crashed and they lost 15 minutes of progress.  :(

Mike i know that's kinda what you're saying with the "much better idea in theory than it was in execution" part.  I agree.  It's the "won't be doing Castle Crashers again for a long time" part that makes me sad-faced.  And no that's not an appeal to change your decision -- i think you're completely right about it, that nobody wants to see CC again at a marathon.  It's just sad that it got that way, because it really could have been different.

EDIT:  I don't want to sound like i'm putting down any of the CC participants.  Not at all.  Everybody did their best given the situation.  In retrospect I just think we should have coordinated better beforehand to make sure that all the individual players and both teams were having sufficient opportunity to practice and get feedback.  And if not, we should have pruned it down to a 3-vs-3 or a 2-vs-2 race, or whatever we needed to do to make it a balanced race.

Regarding snacks:   I'm not sure if everybody realized that there were sandwich materials available 24/7 (really good stuff, too!).  But yeah, when there's a literal mountain of junk food in front of you, it's hard to not just spend all day eating candy, chips, and soda.  So healthy snacks in ready-to-eat form would be awesome (emphasis on "ready-to-eat" form, because if there is any effort whatsoever involved people will just go for the Doritos).  Also the variety of cereals was nice, but (other than grapenuts!) most of the cereals were basically candy.  I suggest having some non-sugary cereals like plain cheerios or chex available.

Also, those sloppy joes were pretty much the best thing i've ever eaten.

And yeah, having a dedicated computer/TV outside the stream room where people can watch is a good idea.  I think we all basically knew that, we just didn't plan for it explicitly which is why it didn't happen.

spikevegeta

2011-08-20 12:08:42 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

In response to the whole Left 4 Dead 2 Situation, I would just like to apologize. I was in the group talking during it(and likely the loudest). I think a lot of us just went into socializing land in the game room because we couldn't actually see any of the PC games, and it maybe didn't register that we we're stepping on him commenting on tricks and whatnot. Not that that's a good excuse or anything, I just felt like possibly pointing out what might have caused it.

Anyways, I wanted to bring this up anywyas in the suggestion thread, as a suggestion towards myself and other people who feel like mostly just commenting. I'll STFU when It's not appropriate at future marathons, since I probably let myself go personally at this one.

spikevegeta

Edit history:

spikevegeta: 2011-08-20 12:16:30 pm

2011-08-20 12:15:52 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Oh, and I guess I should throw out suggestions to the house situation. Essentia and Denton we're truly the best hosts I've ever had. Sleeping arrangements we're just fine, and I can't believe how much we can't hear when we are trying to sleep upstairs. Good stuff.

As for food, I agree with what other people said. Really just wanted healthier choices for cereal at times. Maybe a case or two of bottled water to replace some of the cases of soda? No complaints towards any of the cooked meals from you guys, those were delish.

Really, you guys were great though. I hope to make it to future marathons because of how welcoming this one was.

feasel

2011-08-20 12:20:26 pm

difficult and stupidly random

No, Spikevegeta talking less is not a good suggestion. (Donations seem to indicate that more spikevegeta is better)

But it is a good suggestion to allow everyone to see what's going on during PC games because that would definitely reduce the resulting boredom-chatter.

puwexil

2011-08-20 12:31:30 pm

Professional Second Banana

You guys must not have gone inside Essentia's kitchen closet. I don't think I've ever seen so many boxes or varieties of cereal before outside of a grocery store (I had Multigrain Cheerios when I wanted a healthy breakfast)! Cheesy

feasel

Edit history:

feasel: 2011-08-20 12:37:15 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 12:36:24 pm

feasel: 2011-08-20 12:35:21 pm

2011-08-20 12:32:38 pm

difficult and stupidly random

Wow. I didn't know there was more cereal besides the 20 boxes on the counter. Derp.
(man that's a lot of cereal)

ExtremeYoshiFan

2011-08-20 12:35:22 pm

Just an idea for future marathons during the setup hours between runs(I actually didn't watch during them), but if it is dead space, why not fill it with something video game related? Maybe even a montage of the best from SDA.

Quote from spikevegeta:

As for food, I agree with what other people said. Really just wanted healthier choices for cereal at times. Maybe a case or two of bottled water to replace some of the cases of soda? No complaints towards any of the cooked meals from you guys, those were delish.

Tap water? Bottled water is overpriced and expensive. I would never expect someone to buy a case of bottled water. Just my opinion, but for dozens of people bottled water becomes very pricy.