Why I'm no longer an admin

Hey guys,

Sunday was a very sad day for me, and one that I've honestly seen coming for quite some time.  Today I handed in my admin badge.  First let me start by saying, I became an admin for one reason, and one reason only, to help the community.  I honestly couldn't care less what happens to twitch as a company, I love twitch because of the people that use the service and make up the community.  This was my SOLE reason for accepting the position.  I was hoping that I was going to be able to make a difference, help communicate your wants and needs, and use the position to make positive changes, changes which YOU would want.  I can see this is not going to happen.  

Admins volunteer their time, they are not paid, and frankly, they get nothing for the hours and hours they put in (for some of the more active admins, they put in just as much time if not more as a full time job).  I would have been perfectly fine with this, had I felt that I was able to actually make a difference for you, the community, and sadly, I am not.    

I of course can't go into any details about what finally made me decide to turn in my badge, but suffice it to say that there have been numerous decisions made by twitch, including policies, and changes made in general which I have disagreed with.  I also have disagreed with the direction I feel the company is headed as a whole.  I feel like everyday twitch is more and more a "corporation" in every sense of the word.  I feel they no longer put the customer first, and is quickly falling to all the pitfalls becoming a corporation has.  

As an admin I felt I was also unable to fully voice when I disagreed with the company in that I wasn't able to engage in discussions with you about what and how I disagreed with the decisions.  Although I had access to staff, I almost always felt my comments fell on deaf ears, which was the most frustrating part for me.

I don't want you to think this means I hate twitch, or twitch doesn't deserve your support.  I do still love twitch and am thankful for all the friends I have met through it.  I am also thankful for having the opportunity to be admin while I did.  This is less an emotional parting for me and more a difference of opinion on the priorities of twitch.  Having said that, I have the luxury of not worrying about the bottom line, while twitch doesn't, it has a building full of great employees to feed.

To my fellow admins, I wish you the best of luck, you guys have a shit job and you handle it with a level of professionalism that is unrivaled.  It just got to the point where it just wasn't worth it anymore.  In the end that is the real reason I quit.  It just. wasn't. worth it anymore.  I wasn't able to do what I set out to do, I wasn't able to improve the experience for the community, and like I said, that's why I became an admin. 

To Horror, you and I may have our disagreements, but twitch would be lost without you.  You work 7 days a week, from dawn till dusk (and sometimes beyond).  I have no idea what they're paying you, but it's not enough.

So for now it's back to being regular ol' viewer Chatia, but don't worry, there's still plenty of rooms where I can wield my banhammer ;).

Love you guys,

Chatia

Chatia RETURNS!! Plus my thoughts on OBS, plus the BOI League

Hey guys,

I know my casts have been non existent lately, mostly due to some fairly significant family/other IRL issues.  Work has also been crazy lately, leaving me with little energy to start up a cast at the end of the day.  However, I am looking to change that!  As evidenced by tonight, there will be some interruptions still as family issues have to take precedence, but I've made it a goal to get a cast going most nights.  I really miss you guys and I want to get back into it.

Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)

I did a practice cast with OBS and I have to say I'm really impressed with it.  Keep in mind, it's still in alpha or beta, and there's still plenty left to work on.  For just straight up casting of PC games, I find OBS far superior to xsplit with regards to CPU usage.  As I haven't looked at my actual CPU usage numbers, this is a very subjective (and unscientific) opinion.  I am basing this off the fact that the computer I was casting with can barely handle most PC games, let alone cast them, yet I was able to cast Lego Batman 2 with no difficulties (Sonic Generations sadly proved too stronk, however I only have the required specs for that game, not recommended). I do plan on trying some other beefy games with OBS such as Batman Arkham City and Darksiders.  If I am able to cast these games with relatively little difficulty there will be no question in my mind that OBS is the superior PC casting platform.

Now, having said that, I haven't tried a webcam or greenscreen. Some people, most notable Neohart, indicated to me that there are some sync issues with a web camera; once I test that I will pass the results along.  From what I understand the capture card integration is also still lacking, so you will have to wait if you want to cast your consoles.  Overall I'm really impressed with OBS and as they add more features it is only going to get better.  The interface is very intuitive, and if you are familiar with xsplit it will take you no time to figure out OBS.  Lets not forget the best feature of all.. IT'S FREE!!

Download OBS here

Crumps2, a great caster on twitch (who you should follow) has done a really great tutorial on how to use OBS, you can view it here

The Binding of Isaac Racing League

As some of you know, I have also joined the Binding of Isaac racing league.  Basically once a week I race another Twitch caster to Mom's heart, best 2 out of 3 wins.  This past week I raced Awaken_Smoke and got my butt handed to me, mostly because both of us kept getting bad luck and dying!  It took forever for us to get our first Mom kill.  This next week I believe I face CyanideEpic, but we need to work out when the race will be taking place, so stay tuned to my twitter for more info.

My participation in the league is for fun only, I'm up against people who have platinumed Isaac, where I haven't even killed Isaac yet, so my chances or winning are slim.  Having said that, it's Isaac, and anything can happen!

Go here to see the standings and schedule!

Big thanks to Crumps2 for setting all of this up!

When to cast..

Hey guys,
      I know it's been FOREVER since I've done a blog post, but I feel like this one is too long for a tweet.  I've been wanting to get back into regularly scheduled casting again, but I'm having trouble deciding a time.  Evenings are nice as I get back from work and can start up, and I can generally go as long as I want.  The problem with this however, is that there are a TON of other casters that cast at this time, some of which I love watching myself.  I'm not hesitating because I think these other casters will be "mad" I'm casting when they are, it's more me.  I want to watch these casts as well, not to mention, I have a noticeable viewer drop (30-50%ish) once the big casters come on (MAN, Day9 etc).  Although I'm not "in it" for the numbers, it's always nice to see the cast grow, and I'd like to have a timeslot that allows my cast a chance to really start to pick up some steam.
      I've also debated casting early in the morning, these casts would start about 7 am EST and go till about 10 am EST.  The problem with these casts are they are before work, so I'm incredibly limited as to how long I can go.  The upside is there aren't many casters casting at that time.  Also, I have to get my ass out of bed xD. 
     I would love to cast in the early afternoons (starting like 3pm EST) but sadly I work and thats not a viable option.  I've also debated starting at like.. 2 am or something, the only problem with this is I'd have to pretty much switch my sleeping schedule completely (it would be like I'm working a night shift) and I'm not sure I want to do that either.  I'm leaning toward the evening casts, but I'm definitely looking for input. 
     Oh, and yes, in the end I'll just "cast when I want", but I'm looking for input as I'm really having trouble coming to a decision.  I just want to find a comfortable casting time for everyone, I'd really like to get the channel going and I'd really like to start growing viewership again! 
     Chatia
     

Could it be... a blog post?

Hey guys!

I've really been wanting to get my blog up and running again, so here's me giving the whole thing another go!  I think as well as continuing to post reviews and what not on the site, I'll keep you guys up to date on things I'm doing with life in general.  Some of you may find this interesting, some of you will probably find it the most boring thing you've ever read xD.

I have changed up my casting style a little bit.  I've decided that I'm basically just going to start streaming whatever I would be playing offcast.  Although this might mean that I might not get to some games for a while (I'm sorry Monster Rancher and Psychonauts, we'll get there!), it means a lot more of me casting in general.  I think the best example of this is Final Fantasy 13.  Ever since I started playing it, I've been streaming a lot more, which I find awesome and I hope you do too! 

Speaking of Final Fantasy 13, I have to say I really enjoy the game.  I have beaten it off cast, and spent quite a bit of time in the post game.  I believe my personal file has around 55 hours of gameplay.  I know there are a lot of people out there that hate on it, and at one time I would have agreed with their gripes, however once you get to Chapter 11, the game really does open up and become really interesting (and more like a Final Fantasy game).  

I've always enjoyed the combat system in Final Fantasy 13, which is what kept me coming back all this time.  A lot of people don't like the combat system, saying "it's auto pilot" or "just spam A", however, I would bet that these people only played a few hours in, and, to be fair, they are completely right about that in the first few hours.  There are very few possible paradigms, and the game is VERY slow to ramp up. You don't even start to get the complete combat system until about Chapter 7-8 (where I am on cast now).  However, once you get access to the complete combat system, the game becomes much more strategic, having to choose which paradigms to have active (you can only have 6 at a time) and when to switch paradigms.  There are many fights later in the game where if you are not in the correct paradigm (or at least have the proper job present) it's a wipe.  Once the game ramps up it is truly an enjoyable experience, and I look forward to sharing it all with you soon... also.. Snow's a douche. 

The big thing that's happening with me this week is the conference in Whistler.  I leave Wednesday and return Sunday,  so there won't be any of me casting, however Beef has suggested that there may, MAY be a Beef cast or two happening while I'm gone, so I'm trusting you all to keep an eye on him for me :p.  The conference I'm going to is the Canadian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular and Cellular Biology's (CSBMCB) 55th meeting, focusing on epigenomics and genomic stability.  I'm really excited to go as this is exactly what my field of study is, so it will be really neat to get to meet with all the experts in my field.  These conferences are great networking opportunities, and you never know when a great collaboration might start!  Also, I've never been to Whistler, and they put us up at a swanky hotel (Aava Whistler) so it should be good times all around.

Sometime this week I really want to get a blog post out regarding my feelings on the Mass Effect Day 1 DLC.  I've gotten some flack from people suggesting I'm just mad because I feel entitled and blah blah blah. I assure you, the reason I don't like Day 1 DLC has nothing to do with entitlement, or the actual substance of the Day one DLC (be it good or bad).  The reason I don't like Day 1 DLC is because I believe it's bad business practice and bad for the video game industry in general.  I believe it warrants a blog post as twitter just can't do a topic like this justice.

That's all for now guys, see you on cast!

Magic Mondays!!

Hi guys!
I alluded during the cast that Mondays were going to be special, and boy are they!  Starting next Monday (February 20th), Mondays become Magic Mondays!  This is your opportunity to join me in some friendly games of Magic the Gathering!

The first week we will be playing the steam version (Duels of the Plainswalker), just to see how much interest there is, and because it's easier to set up.  The week after that we will be playing MTG online OR (if I can get it working) we will try the mod that Horror recommended.  I welcome your input in this of course.

For next Monday, if there's just a few people interested, I will do 1v1 matches, however, if lots are interested we will do the 4 player matches (free for all or archenemy).  Basically I'll open a game and the first X people to send me a message on steam will get to play!  I think this will be a lot of fun.

If we do end up playing MTGO, I'm not sure how it will work yet, as I only have starter cards, but I'll worry about it after I see how well next Monday goes.  Lets all work together to make Magic Mondays super fun everyone <3
Chatia

Review: Bayonetta

A sexy witch kicking angel ass while attempting to save the world! Sounds great, but does it pan out, and more importantly, did I enjoy the game?  Let's find out.

First of all, what is Bayonetta? Wikipedia defines it as "a hack and slash action game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 developed by Platinum Games in cooperation with publisher Sega. Set in a fictional city in Europe, the game centers on its title character, Bayonetta, who uses pistols and magical attacks to defeat enemies"

To me, although accurate, this description does not do the game justice.  This game is a stunningly orgasmic ride through 14 chapters of hack and slash heaven.  The controls are responsive and fast; rarely did I feel Bayonetta was not doing what I wanted her to.  Combine this with a great combo system, and I'm in heaven.    

I'll be the first to admit, the story in Bayonetta is lacking.  There's plot holes you could drive a bus through, and it really doesn't make much sense as a whole.  However, the thing about this game is that the gameplay is so FUN you don't even care about the story (and this coming from someone who loves RPGs).  In fact, that is a great way to sum up this game.. FUN.

Show me another game where you have pole dancing to 1950s awesome music.. this game ROCKS!

The combat is definitely the most satisfying part of this game.  Not only are the controls fantastic, but the way combat works is just wonderful.  By hitting bosses, and not getting hit yourself, you gain magic, when you have enough magic, you are able to perform a torture attack, dealing massive damage.  Also, once you have completed a boss you get a "climax" attack, where Bayonetta summons a monster to eat the boss while you mash buttons for ultimate rewards!

There is also a really nice upgrade system in Bayonetta.  As you kill enemies they drop "halos" (they look like Sonic's rings), which you can use to upgrade techniques, weapons, items, accesories or (what I did) COSTUMES!!!!

With difficulty settings from "very easy" to "infinite climax" this game can appeal to both the casual gamer and the hardcore.  I did my first playthrough on normal, and it was a good difficulty to learn the game.  When I casted the game I did it on hard, and though it posed a challenge, I didn't hit a super hard "wall" (other than the prologue.. damn that triple torture attack level).  I do plan on going back and doing a playthrough on infinite climax, Bayonetta is just that fun.

Now I can already hear people saying "but Chatia, I thought you didn't like scantily clad female protagonists.. I thought that was sexist".  Bayonetta is the epitimy of the strong female.  She wears skimpy clothes and acts sexy because SHE wants to, not to impress males.  There is no need for Bayonetta to be saved by the male lead here, and the one time she does need a rescue, it's a female that does it.  To me, this game is a great portrayal of females, simply because the power rests with Bayonetta, not the male characters around her.  Bayonetta kicks ass, chews bubble gum AND looks good doing it, a great female character.

Overall I truly enjoyed this game, it is pure fun wrapped in a fun package and coated with more fun! Wanna know how much fun? This much!

Bayonetta has become one of my favourite games, and I can't wait to get back into it and 100% it!  Bayonetta gets 5 scantily clad witches out of 5! GO PICK IT UP NAO!

Chatia Learns Starcraft 2: Day One

Hi guys!
So for those who don't know, this is a new project I'm taking on.  Basically I started playing Starcraft 2 about a month ago, and I love it!  It's the first RTS I've ever gotten into, so I'm a complete nub.  I instantly fell in love with the Protoss race for a myriad of reasons, and so I play them exclusively.  I've been learning, and I wanted a way to track my progress as I dive farther and farther and (hopefully) get better at this really fun game.  The idea is, I'll cast my games, then provide highlights of certain games, along with some points on what I did well or not so well.  This helps me, as I get to analyze what I need to improve on.  I hope this might also provide some entertainment for you guys, and maybe some help (especially if you're a complete noob like me!)  Now, on to the first day.

Monday Oct. 17, 2011
Rank: 15 Bronze League

Today I'm going to post 2 games, one win, one loss.

First the loss:
 Early rush loss

Okay, so basically this is an early rush, there are a couple things I could have done to survive this rush.  I've listed these options in the order of best case--> worst case solutions as I see them

1) Sentries.  Sentries have the ability to make force fields.  If I had a couple sentries out, I could have completely blocked off my ramp, allowing me time to build more units, and destroy his little army.

2) Better micro.  Stalkers outrun zealots, and zealots are melee units while stalkers are ranged.  If I could stutter step better I could have kept my stalkers out of the range of the zealots while pewpewing them down.

3) Better scouting.  If I had seen what he was doing, it's possible that I could have had better units waiting (this sort of flows into #1).

3) Engage with my probes.  This is something that I am TERRIBLE about.  I always have the tendency to try and save my probes and run them away.  Later in the game, when the units are tougher, this is the way to go, but in the beginning, against a couple zealots, the probes can actually be a huge help, and could have served as a way to block off the zealots from my stalkers, providing my stalkers time to pewpew the zealots down.  I would have lost a lot of probes, but I would have survived the attack.  Usually when people send units that early, they are pulling probes (not making as many probes as they could be), so it's quite possible that if I had survived the attack I could have been even or ahead economically.

Okay, now that we've gone over a loss, here's a win.

Win against terran part 1
Win against Terran part 2
(two parts cause twitch split the archive in the middle of the game)

To me, there were three key points in this game that led me to the win.

1) I outmacroed him.  I gathered more resources and created more units.  If you do this in most games, you will win!  It seems simple, but getting to a point where you have a decently macroed game is tough.  My macro wasn't actually that great this game (you will hear me constantly complaining about how many minerals I'm floating), but it was better than his.

2) Scouting.  I scout him early, and can see what he's up to.  Therefore, I stick with my favourite build against Terrans (heavy robo units).  If I had seen a starport with a tech lab for instance, I would have known banshees were coming, as it was I saw he was going marine/tank (a very common Terran build).  Immortals absolutely melt Terran tanks, combine that with upgrades and you can see his army basically disintegrates under mine.  (Again I could afford upgrades and those units due to better macroing).

3) Denial of a 2nd base.  Because of my scouting, I was able to see when the Terran was going to take a second and destroy it.  This is important as it keeps me economically ahead of him.  Now, he could have very easily countered this by simply taking a different location as his 2nd base, but more often that not (especially in bronze league) people are obsessed with taking their natural as their 2nd base, and this guy paid for it.

That's all for this edition of Chatia Learns SC2, I hope you'll join me next time!  If you have any comments, please feel free to post them below!