Cup of Jones - February 10, 2020

Thanks, I'll try to remember to check it out. - Jones

Easy Allies

Noted!

Easy Allies

Hi, Jones. Just wanted to say congratulations on nailing both Oscar picks for best motion picture of the year and best actor in a leading role. Aside from that, I thought you might be interested in knowing that there is a game very similar to Animal Crossing on PC, it's called "Hokko Life". It's to Animal Crossing what Temtem is to Pokémon. You and/or Bloodworth probably already know about it, but just mentioning it in case you don't. This isn't a post that needs to be replied. Really. Just wanted to congratulate you and mention Hokko Life. That's it. Have a nice week. L & R

Daniel Ribeiro

So, it looks like Kyle is out this week too (thankfully things seem to be better, as his tweet says!)... so... can we get Ben to host the podcast this week? Just for funsies. Also, you did a great job Jones! I know you have more responsibility on the podcast (as co-host and editor) but this might be the only opportuity for someone else to host it so... Even if it doesn't happen, we can agree that it would be fun for the other allies to try it, right? And I'll look forward to watch you host again. Thanks Jones, L&R

Eric Grynberg

G'day Jones, (this became quite long, so I completely understand if you don't read it out - I just want to bring these issues to your attention before Tuesday. I'd be very satisfied with a written response) As an Australian, currently living in Canada, it's been heart-breaking watching from afar as my homeland was devastated by fires, and feeling like there was nothing I could do to help*. I was overjoyed then when you said that your Magic The Gathering tournament would raise money that would go towards Australian disaster relief. Thank you, so much. I'm writing today as you may have missed a controversy that arose last month in Australia. It was found that several charities that successfully raised huge amounts of money, including reputable institutions like the Australian Red Cross and Salvation Army, were shown to be holding back huge many tens-of-millions of dollars. Responses from the charities that these were for "ongoing costs" and future emergencies did little to comfort the thousands of people who had lost absolutely everything. In response to this, there are now increasing calls for Australian charities to have greater accountability and scrutiny. I would never recommend against raising money for a cause which is clearly so close to my heart. But please consider the following: - Please let us know upfront which charity/charities you will be passing Chat's donations on to. So far you're only mentioned they're going generally to support relief for Australian bushfires, but some more specificity would put my mind at ease - Please scrutinise the charity/charities you are passing on Chat's donations to. Do they pay directly to communities or environment restoration groups in affected areas? Do they have clear plans for how donations are paid out? Do they have affiliations with prominent mining or coal lobby groups that argue against the role of humans in creating a hottier, drier climate, and the impact this has on bushfires? (for example several mining magnates, who hold significant political power in Australia, have lead very successful fundraisers for the bushfires, while simultaneously spreading thoroughly disproven myths about arsonists plaguing the Australian wilderness) Again, I think you and the Allies can do wonderful work Tuesday night to help those affected to rebuild and restore. I just want to highlight these issues so you can be sure our donations are going to the place they can do the most good. Thanks so much, James (@blindly_fumblin) * (the ass-backwards anti-science responses by our climate change-denying leaders has been even more disheartening and disempowering... but that's a rant for another day)

James McCoy

Heya Jones, Uhhh.....okay, so like if Phase 4 of Easy Allies was one of the Founding Father of the United States of America, what would it choose as the national bird? An eagle, a turkey, or a dove? ps- Good job with the podcast this week!

Asbo Zappruder

Mr. Jones, What is EZA's most significant accomplishment (as a business) to date, and are you being active and intentional to surpass that accomplishment? I know you frequently mention that the Allies are happy with what they are doing, but sometimes it feels like you are becoming satisfied by not growing a larger community because it would shift the balance of your current, more comfortable, work dynamic. I don't ask this to offend, but am sometimes not sure I understand the trajectory of EZA as a business. I could also be mistaken because I don't see and understand the same things as you, so please feel free to correct me / put me in my place. Respectfully, Morgan Mohalla

Morgan Mohalla

Hey Jones, I was wondering. Obviously you will still cover and attend e3 this year, regardless if Sony or Kyle's father Geoff Keighley won't be part of it. It's near to you guys, and you've been doing it for years. But I want to know, let's just say that if e3 would happen to move to the East coast. How much would that affect coverage? Which Ally would this piss off the most?

GmanSir

safety post

Snowcone Guy

Hello Jones! (I stop calling you Big Daddy Jones. Kyle suggested we should call you that but I assume you don't like it very much :P ) An area in which you can improve in my eyes is the audio balance between game footage and your microphones during live streams. It happens a lot that a game is way too loud or way too quiet. And it looks like your current approach to that, is to rely on chat to tell you if the balance is off, and when you have tweaked it to good levels. But I'm not a big fan of this solution myself. Sometimes you are just not looking at chat for some time, while the game is blasting everybody's ears off. Other times someone in chat tells you "It's good now!" after you made the first adjustment, even though you have missed the desired balance by a long shot. And then those who notice it have to try to get your attention in chat again, just to let you know. And sometimes I watch the replay of a stream and have to see that the balance was totally off and nobody in chat said a thing for an hour, or at all. My suggestion is that you have a kind of "monitor" at your streaming desk, that let's you watch the stream yourself. It could be as simple as a tablet with some noise cancelling headphones attached, that is always watching your own stream. (Or a small netbook.) Then, every time you start playing a game or switch to another game, the person that is sitting on the desk or the person that is momentarily going over to the desk can have a quick listen, and the the balance could be achieved pretty much immediately, and without any guessing games, whether you hit or missed the spot. I hope my words don't come across too nit-picky, but everything from your intro to the studio and equipment screams "production value" and "professional", so it sticks out much more that we still have to dance this dance after all those years. Love and Respect, Snowcone Guy

Snowcone Guy

Hello Jones, With Keighley’s announcement that he’ll be skipping E3 this year, I wonder if/how this affects the way you view the event and its place in the gaming landscape. While selfishly my first thought was “Oh cool, Bosman can be on the Nintendo reactions,” does this seem to herald a significant shift in the event’s prestige among the dedicated? Will something else rise to fill the gap? Or is gaming convention as an event simply going too far down the individualized programs that have split other media types? (I’m sure this will get some discussion on the podcast this week so if you think that covered it well enough feel free to skip this.)

Erunion

Hey Jones, If I remember correctly, when EZX 2020 was formally introduced at the end of the one of the group streams, you brought up how the day after the event, there would be a meetup at a park (don't remember if the park name was mention, apologies). It was supposed to be a meetup for those who either couldn't make it to the Disneyland meetup on the Saturday or were still in the area on Monday. Do you have an idea of when more info on the park meetup will be presented? I want to plan accordingly as soon as possible as while I won't make it to the Disneyland meetup, I want to make sure I get a return flight on Monday scheduled for after the park event.

Karl Williams

Jones, You guys did a don’t skip on Trails in Sky and I absolutely loved it. I was just wondering if any of the allies are interested in playing anymore of the series? Trails of Cold Steel 3 came out last year and none of the allies really talked about it. I know this series requires an enormous amount of time and effort since the games are so long and there are so many. I really do love the series though and it rewards your time and effort with some of the best world building and character development I’ve ever seen.

strawhatninja

Hi Jones, Has there been any thought on playing through the Mass Effect trilogy (maybe just the first one for now?) on your Thursday night streams with Kyle? I know you’ve said in the past that this is one of the series that you missed out on and you would love to play through it but just don’t have the time. It seems like you have been given the gift of time with your Thursday night streams and as far as I know Kyle is a fan of the series (could be wrong so sorry if so). It would be amazing to see the choices that you make and see how those choices evolve throughout the series (if you guys play all 3). The first game isn’t very long (maybe 20 hours) if you’re not trying to 100% it so should be similar to your silver playthrough. I know you guys are planning on playing dreams next so just an idea for something after that. Love and Respect Soratos23

Soratos23

Hello Jones I don't know how you edit and upload the podcast so I don't know if this is even doable but is it possible for you to provide the link to the podcast that includes the ad in the early access post? I still want the Podcast early but I also want to up the number of views on the video that is visible to the public since that helps you guys out.

Olf Himself

Hey BJ,

Ibrahim Sozer

Hey Jones, I just wanted to weigh in since you asked for our opinions. You don't have to read this on the next CoJ. Regarding the GotY video, I'm personally not a fan of the DMC5 troll at the announcement of Game of the Year. I watched the deliberation beforehand, so I was just a little confused and I wasn't rooting for DMC5 anyway. However, it's likely there are viewers out there who both 1) care about what the Easy Allies chose as their GotY, and 2) was hoping for DMC5 to win. I just think it's bad form to get certain viewers excited about something, only to immediately let them down. Even in your Oscar example, while there was a pause in the announcement for dramatic effect, there was never a moment where she looked like she was about to announce a different movie as a winner. These are just my thoughts though, and even if you guys did it again next year I wouldn't really be upset about it.

Jason I.

Hey Brandon. Thank you for answering my questions from the previous episode. I wanted to tell you that I didn't think your answers were a cop out and I understood where you were coming from and could see the reasoning. So your answers were fine, don't be too hard on yourself :) Now that last weeks' discussion is out of they way, here is a weird idea I've been struggling if I should bring up here. Would you be up for doing a weekly, single question, (niche) gaming related trivia game (?) with me? That might be confusing so let me elaborate. Basically would you be okay with me asking you a single video game related trivia question each week and you giving me the first answer you think is right or that comes to your mind next week? The answer would ofc come in the personal questions section so it wouldn't take unnecessary time out of the actual episode. To be honest this is just my way of sharing some trivia I find interesting with you. That's basically the whole point. But I didn't just want to drop some random trivia out of nowhere lol So if you do feel okay with doing this, this would be the question for this week: TRIVIA QUESTION: - Dante and Vergil from Devil May Cry series are identical twins. Who is the older brother? (Allies please don't post the answer in the comments, thanks) If you don't feel like doing this, please don't feel pressured into agreeing with it. I'd totally get it, L&R! P.S: I really hope everything is okay with Kyle and his family.

Hey Jones. I seem to remember back in the day visiting gametrailers on a daily basis not only for the stellar, quality content but for the news (I may be remembering incorrectly) Something I've noticed recently is that in the podcasts, news is reported from other sources I.e. Kotaku, eurogamer etc. Would easy allies ever consider becoming journalistic and start reporting and investigating in house on the news? Whether that be on the website or podcast form. What factors were responsible for the change away from reporting? Please don't take this as a request but merely a question out of curiosity.

Cabbagelad

Hey Mr. Jones! My question this week is inspired by the new promo-video you debuted last week. I absolutely loved it and I feel its strongest quality is it does a wonderful job showing the diversity of content EZA produces. With this month’s group streams filled with unique streams (Valve Index night, the Magic Charity tournament, and Hall of Greats), I had started to reappreciate the balance EZA brings with traditional podcasts, reviews and the like with the other EZA-only stuff such as Easy Update and Don’s Design Lab, and among other things. When you debuted the video, it brought up those feelings stronger, and solidified into the following: What do you think about EZA’s current balance of gaming and non-gaming content? Do you think, in a perfect world with all the time, resources, and desire to do so, EZA could introduce more of one or the other? Or do you believe Easy Allies is in a nice spot to offer plenty of options for variety of gaming and EZA fans the world over? As always, thank you very much for choosing to read my question(s) and have a wonderful day. Cheers! P.S.: In reference to my last question how Max used GT reactions, you are correct it was from a video standpoint and I was thinking that if there was a topic during the Podcast or FrameTrap and an Ally had watched something that was pertinent to their point, THAT was what inspired me. But in your answer, it made me think of random Allies recording one-off editorial videos using others as sources which is an amusing and entertaining thought, but wasn’t what I was thinking when asking and I am NOT asking for anyone at EZA to do any such thing. QUESTION: Do you think EZA is striking a right balance between gaming and non-gaming content, and if not, which one do you think EZA could focus more on? Or do you believe there’s enough out there to fit most people’s interests?

Brandon K Gann

Okay, this is gonna be a little nitpicky but since the discussion of GOTY categories came up I've gotta ask: what's with the bewieldering 'best "platformer"' category? When it came up on stream Blood said it was because you guys don't like the term 'sidescroller' but isn't that what the category is? I mean, Bloodstained is a stretch for platformer but then there's Katana Zero, a game I quite liked but there's not an ounce of platforming in it. It's an action game and sometimes a stealth game but it's definitely not a platformer. I'm also pretty sure 3D platformers wouldn't be considered for the category, correct? Anyway, not a big deal just thought it was funny to hear Jones say "what's an action game? what's an adventure game? what does action-adventure mean? we have to define that stuff before we can move forward".

Felippanda

Would be awesome to see you guys get the Quest VR headset and play Thrill of the Fight!

YourOwnSkills

Morning Jones! Since we patrons now get the ad-free version of the podcast every week, that means we're missing out on valuable coupon codes for the businesses sponsoring the podcast! Is there a way that the advertiser, coupon code, and a short description can be added to the podcast description so that we can still take advantage? Thanks! Brian Denu

Brian Denu

Hello Brandon. I plan to submit a gameplay video for Community Showcase, but it looks like YouTube has tweaked compression parameters for videos with small view number. I don't wan't to submit a video that looks like an old VHS tape, so I'm looking for alternatives that are acceptable for you. What tool are you using to download videos for Community Showcase (so that I can check the list of video hosting services it supports)? Is it OK to upload H264-encoded mp4 file (1080p @ 60fps) to the cloud and submit a link to it? P.S. My last question about asking you to watch 30-seconds from the middle of Ian's Synth Stream wasn't loaded. Just when I watched it I thought that it so wonderfully bizarre, that it may look even better out of context. So I was partly testing my theory and partly sharing something I thought you may like. Sorry for my poor choosing of the words that caused this confusion.

Alexander Zyryanov

as next-gen approaches, will there be a EZA "best of the generation" awards live-stream or top 10 video? including Deliberations/individual picks or lists etc.?

Matt Igleski

Jones lost Internet, we'll have a secondary post with the new link up soon. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies