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