Fractal Jaguar's videos (POV & casts, 1v1s, 2v2s, FFAs) - latest vid: POV vs Relentless AI on Forge

Someone in chat told me that you can still open with two factories as long as you only use one fabber. However, the tiny tweak to commander energy draw might have changed that. I shall test!

Well I guess with only fabber. But who would only want one fabber?
A hard rush that aims to win fast I guess?

Yeah, one fabber rush build I normally build three, but I was experimenting

Another new video, this time a 2v2 game with Spy on Amplus. Not our best game, but fun nonetheless

Two ranked 1v1 games. I provide as much commentary about what I am doing and why I am doing it as I can, so these games might be useful to bronze and silver players learning the 1v1 game.

Using my new microphone and an improvised shockmount because it is so sensitive it was picking up the vibrations of my computer fans (which are very quiet!). I don't think it was particularly noticeable in my last video but I noticed it in my tests in Audacity.

So as I recently mentioned in another thread, I thought I'd try my hand at casting PA games. Haven't been well lately nor had much 'quiet time' suitable for recording videos, but I had a day off today and thought I'd see if there were any games with spectator slots, and lo and behold, @Alpha2546 is hosting a ten player FFA on a custom planet of his own design!



So here it is, my first cast of a live game. I hope you like it, it was fun to make and an interesting experience, I enjoyed it - so you'll probably see a few more in the near future. I'm a bit rusty because I haven't been playing PA much lately, so I make one big mistake at about 31:30 due (I confuse the unit icon for a Kestrel with that of a Phoenix!). But I will aim to improve.

I would really appreciate constructive criticism and any requests you may have. What kinds of game (FFA, 1v1, 2v2, etc?) would you like to see casted, what would you like me to focus my commentary on, etc. Let me know what you think!

I enjoyed that, more casts are always welcome to fill my evenings. Good job! I like your calm voice, just some words come out muffled at times. Would have liked some commentary on the terrain / map layout. That's all I have, thanks again!

Pretty good cast for a first time I'd say. Ofcourse not flawless. Then again this wasn't the most interesting FFA to cast. FFA's tend to play around 3 aggressive players and thats about it. It wasn't that bad this time I guess.

Quality of the video is really good. High detailed and your voice sounds really good and clear. It sometimes can sound a bit boring though (as @MrTBSC mentioned). I recommend practising a bit more with some enthusiasm. For instance at 9:20 your casting is really good. I can hear you picking up the casting and giving your own opinion and swing to it.

You can explain situations a bit more. For instance someones starting build wasn't good. Just explain like what is good and what isnt good and what kind of mistakes people tend to make.

Don't be afraid to use chronocam. Also if it won't load up properly hit f5, it should solve that bug.

Just keep practising. You got the basic. I'm sure you can be a solid caster. It also helps a lot of you have a cocaster. Maybe stream while playing games? That could also help a lot.

Good luck in future casts and if you want feedback then just tag me in the video. I'll try to give you feedback if I got time and want to .

BTW I also never know what a kestrel is and what an orbital fighter is when looking at the icons.

I was afraid to hit F5 for some reason, didn't want to **** up the video lol. Illogical in retrospect, but whatever!

When @cwarner7264 is back from whatever he's studying for at the moment, I'd like to try a co-cast, I think those are always better. You can riff of each other and fill gaps. I'll stream and practice, for sure

I'll make an effort to use my voice more like an actor instead of just talking. I do talk quietly, generally speaking, and I agree that I can sound a bit dull/boring at times. I shall endeavour to be more enthusiastic

Thanks! Going to work on enunciation so I don't mumble or sound muffled. I'll be sure to give a map/terrain breakdown in the future as well.

I'm back! Prod me whenever and we'll see what we can arrange

You're back! Woo! What times are good for you to play/cast PA? 5-6:30pm UTC weekdays are usually good for me.

Bit later for me on weekdays I'm afraid. I have an irritatingly long commute. Usually after about 1900hrs UTC (2000hrs BST)

Really good cast imo +1

For a first time cast that wasn't bad at all I thought, especially as FFAs can be a real drag to commentate on. Here are "Quitch's thoughts on casting" based on my experience as a viewer.

1. Don't talk about what you're going to do, just do it. For example, don't say "Let's look at..." or "I'm just going to..." just go look at it or do it. The only time to break this rule is when you have a second caster who you need to keep in the loop.
2. Don't say something is poor without explaining why. Commentary should be about explanation, put out a view and justify it. You got better at this as the cast went on.
3. Make use of the PiP to cover the elements you can't see in the main view. You might need to turn it off later for performance reasons, but early on it'll help you catch stuff, and even if you don't you audience will so they don't miss out.
4. Try and reduce the amount of zooming and general moving about. It's something you do while playing, but sudden movement can be disorientating for people who can't anticipate the camera movement i.e. the audience
5. Use downtime to talk about possible strategies, things you anticipate happening, possible outcomes, etc. Predictions are good because it gives you things to talk about in future deadtime.
6. Avoid talking about technical problems. If you crash, you crash, but it's not useful or interesting commentary (rather like casters talking about lobbies). If you can still move then analyse the positions, otherwise talk about what you've seen so far and expect to see going forward.
7. Keeping the scrolling slow and smooth and use camera anchors as an easy way of getting about.
8. Don't complain about the UI or the game in a cast. People are tuning in to hear you commentate on a game, you should be positive and selling the experience. Your excitement becomes theirs, though I'm not a fan of going "full American", that's too much
9. Make use of the in-game graphs to get more detailed information. Metal destruction/loss is a great way to know who's really winning the battles. Find out which ones are useful to you.

Solid gold advice mate, thank you.

<gloat>My walk to work takes me about 3 minutes </gloat>

That sucks dude. Tomorrow might be good for me, though, around 7pm. Message me when you get home?

Just a casual 1v1 game on Forge

My second cast! This time a 5v5 game with some guys from The Realm and Team Burning. Please, let me know what you think. Constructive criticism welcome, as are requests. Let me know if there is a replay that you'd like me to cast for instance, or message me if you've got an epic game lined up with your friends and you want it recorded and casted for posterity! I'll try my best



@mot9001 @mishtakashi Be sure to let me know if you and your clanmates ever have a game lined up! It would be great to cast a game with only clan members playing

An FFA on Hot Platforms! (thanks to @ballsonfire for the custom planet, t'is a nice one)

Hello! Just wanted to say that I'm finding it hard to record PA videos at the moment due to time constraints coupled with finding games to cast/well matched opponents to play.

One sided games are not particularly interesting to play, cast, or watch, and I think a fair few of my 1v1 POV videos, especially random ones, are one-sided (either elodea stomping me or me stomping randoms in ranked matches). Best games I generally have are with @jomiz at the moment; we seem to be about the same skill level.

Anyway, if anyone reads this, what I would like to do is arrange games in advance for either casting, or playing (e.g. a FFA games. I also have access to a powerful dedicated server which I can host games for 11+ players if there is interest in that).

Regarding arranging a game to cast, I'm particularly interested in high level 1v1 play - so guys like @elodea, @clopse, @Alpha2546, @neptunio, @cola_colin, etc... if we can coordinate a mutually convenient time for you guys to play and for me to cast/record the game, that'd be great.

Saying that though, I am /more/ than happy to cast 2v2 and other team games, and FFA. I love me an FFA! FFA games seem to be the most popular to watch as well, judging from the number of views on my PA videos I just really like 1v1 competition in general, be it MMA, Quake, or PA