DAYYYYUM: Confessions of a Disgruntled MK9 Kommunity Member

[B W1zZ]

He himself said that the kommunity needs "WWE-style promos and feuds" to build hype. Now he wants to complain about the current state of the kommunity and poise himself as the "saviour"? I totally agree, the kommunity does need saving - from ideas like this. You don't see the Olympics cutting "WWE-style promos" for hype? How about chess majors? Poker? Biggest orgasm contests at the AVNs? Nope. We now have people spending more time creating theme music for players and in-game characters (WTF!?!?!?!?!) than we do working on tech. I'm not blaming Tom for all of this, but it is a natural extension of what he started.

I don't really see chess and poker as good examples. In my opinion there's nothing wrong with aesthetics. This is a fighting game, not chess or poker. Hyping shit up with theme music or a WWE style promo is cool with me, nothing wrong with there being some shit talk, drama, or theatrics. Tom's point is that there needs to be some beef within the community to strengthen it, basically rivalries aren't always a bad thing. In my opinion theres a distinct line between aesthetics and being technical...and if you're good enough to have a WWE promo/intro or whatever at a major tournament chances are there's a lot of technical knowledge to back it up.

 

[mk_pros]

commentary needs more TOM BRADY no one else

cheers

 

[KingHippo]

I will say that Mr. 9.95 is very good at commentating and I've always enjoyed when he's on the mic.

I'm not saying we need totally vanilla announcers ala Ultrachen. I'm just saying it couldn't hurt to stop beings fans of other players for a second and start analyzing the game, which anyone can admit does happen on a lot of the streams. And it's not easy I'll admit that as much. If I wasn't an outgoing person it would probably be very difficult and I understand the majority of players tend to not be.

I'm also not even asking for super in depth technical knowledge, just more than "D1 is good".

 

[MortySeinfeld]

1. Yes, it did... and not many who spend their time TRYING to get better appreciate the bashing... we appreciate the constructive criticism, but the bashing has to stop.

2. It's way more than an unpaid position. It's unpaid, it can be thankless, and especially for the stream producer, the out of pocket costs can be monumental. Since I began streaming in May, I have purchased:

-$100 capture card
-2x $50 component video splitters
-2x $40 hdmi to component converters, both which broke
-$180 asus monitor for the players
-$200 hdfury2
-$60 audio mixer
-2x $20 mics
-$1700 custom PC with built in cap card
$65 webcam for the players
-various other small pieces of equipment like 1/4" to rca jack converters, cables, wires, surge protectors, etc.

That makes $2,525 MINIMUM out of pocket in under a year on stream equipment. It's WAY more than an unpaid position, and those of you who complain, need to think about that before telling people to spend more time... or else invest your own $2500 and do it better yourselves.

**BTW, this doesn't mean I'm ungrateful for every person who criticizes... it just means that if you think that stream producers haven't put the time or energy into their streams, you're dead wrong. That's all I think about these days...how can I make my stream better? What can I add, what can I do?

3. You're right, I have spent time thinking of "theme music" for some players and in game characters... but nowhere near as much time as you implied. I did it spur of the moment on a night when I didn't have many players and needed to generate interest to keep people involved. I try to evolve my show, make it interesting for the viewers. I do that by trying to be a better commentator and producer... This means thinking of new things to keep people entertained and on the stream... including dumb little things that make people laugh like a small intro song. If it doesn't fly, I'll remove it, if it does I keep it.

I can't relate to the commentary part here because I think i'd be much too nervous to commentate, but your 2nd point here really drives a point home that I feel I can relate to.

Myself and my brother Sao were the ones running doing streaming for the Arizona MK community. Being a streamer is a huge time/money investment and is oftentimes a very thankless job. We were in a similar situation where we have spent upwards of $2,500+ on stream equipment to stream local tournaments we had previously thrown (Digital Dojo) here in Arizona. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to host/advertise for a tournament; Set-up prior to a tournament (2-4+ hours if you have to bring your own equipment).

When we were running our tournaments here in Arizona, we would oftentimes drive upwards of 60+ miles (2-4 hours driving both ways) to bring people to the events and drop them off. Building a scene takes a lot of work, and maintaining it takes even much more work.

Anyway my point is, that I can relate. And that (as an observer/friend) I appreciate the hard work you put into this Phil. VSM is considered a strong scene/community because of your willingness to put them in the spotlight (in addition to being great players).

In regards to commentary, I also feel that some of the stronger commentators have been:

- Pig of the Hut
- Phil 9.95
- Aris (doesn't actively play anymore unfortunately)
- Wonder Chef
- 16_Bit + ShujinkyDink
- Dr. Dogg + JediRobb
- King Hippo + Juicebox

 

[9.95]

KingHippo MortySeinfeld I appreciate it very much. Like I said, I don't consider myself good... I just try and do my best and hope it works out.

 

[CJKRattlehead]

I actually like the trolling commentary a lot but there is a time and a place. Example, 16bit, hilarious commentary but I wouldn't want him commentating EVO grand finals. MK needs an Aris or an Ultradavid.

 

[KingHippo]

Nobody needs an UltraDavid.

 

[OriginalRazer]

I agree with 16 Bit the stream chat should be hidden from the commentary Team. Im tired of no info being given, sure I love the jokes but not ALL the time. I hate info being kept secret. This is why I appreciate UsedForGlue in my own scene. He knows a lot of kharacters and loves to share info. I wanted to use Skarlet, but never really took her all the way. Boom..... Glue posts a few vids showing some of Skarlet's dirt like her En Slide nullifying wakeup attacks! 0_0 Im picking her up. Knowledge is Power...... share it.

All the best,
RAZER

 

[KingHippo]

Yes, sharing info is great. It builds characters and most importantly MATCHUPS. The game has a lot of depth that people say isn't there only because people don't share shit and don't wanna learn anything new and would rather try to work on gimmicks that might not even work because they didn't show anybody to critique it.

See the circle I was talking about?

 

[Justice]

1. Yes, it did... and not many who spend their time TRYING to get better appreciate the bashing... we appreciate the constructive criticism, but the bashing has to stop.

2. It's way more than an unpaid position. It's unpaid, it can be thankless, and especially for the stream producer, the out of pocket costs can be monumental. Since I began streaming in May, I have purchased:

-$100 capture card
-2x $50 component video splitters
-2x $40 hdmi to component converters, both which broke
-$180 asus monitor for the players
-$200 hdfury2
-$60 audio mixer
-2x $20 mics
-$1700 custom PC with built in cap card
$65 webcam for the players
-various other small pieces of equipment like 1/4" to rca jack converters, cables, wires, surge protectors, etc.

That makes $2,525 MINIMUM out of pocket in under a year on stream equipment. It's WAY more than an unpaid position, and those of you who complain, need to think about that before telling people to spend more time... or else invest your own $2500 and do it better yourselves.

**BTW, this doesn't mean I'm ungrateful for every person who criticizes... it just means that if you think that stream producers haven't put the time or energy into their streams, you're dead wrong. That's all I think about these days...how can I make my stream better? What can I add, what can I do?

3. You're right, I have spent time thinking of "theme music" for some players and in game characters... but nowhere near as much time as you implied. I did it spur of the moment on a night when I didn't have many players and needed to generate interest to keep people involved. I try to evolve my show, make it interesting for the viewers. I do that by trying to be a better commentator and producer... This means thinking of new things to keep people entertained and on the stream... including dumb little things that make people laugh like a small intro song. If it doesn't fly, I'll remove it, if it does I keep it.

2. Thanks for the education, dood. That was what I was getting at but not being a streamer myself didn't have more specific examples. It's like when I started singing karaoke: If you're too chicken-shit to get up there yourself, you have no right to take cheap shots at those who do.

3. Yeah, I could have worded that a litle better. I used that statement as a blanket statement to cover all the bs and drama that goes on the forums. Spending time crying for nerf/buffs, whining about commentators, doing things that have nothing to do with the game to build hype. I got nothing against doing whatever you can to build hype for your local streams and tournaments or whatever, but when it comes time for the bigger tournaments and events, it should be treated with a little more respect.

@B W1zZ: I only mentioned those as examples of tournaments. They rely on the reputations of the participants and the requisite advertising to build their hype. Despite what I said, I don't have much of a problem with entrance themes, etc. It's more the doors that it opens once you've gone there is all. I would rather build a scene based on mutual respect, comraderie and exchange of knowledge than cheap tricks and gimmicks. I just feel that if we have to rely on these to get viewers than the entire kommunity needs to hit the lab and level up.

 

[KingHippo]

I personally think the hype shit is great. You wanna do promos or something fine just leave it all in the game. It's when people taunt with rumors of tech and stuff just makes you sound like a damn doofus.

 

[Quantus]

Man there are a lot of walls o' text in this thread, and I am powering through them, but I gotta get this thought down before it escapes me.

It seems like a common issue is striking the balance of entertainment with information in commentary. Maybe we should actually try to match our commentary teams together based on the "classic" team. I think people attempt it... but just not very well.

The reason that two commentators is the staple is because they have two distinct jobs. The play-by-play commentator and the color commentator. This best strikes the balance of entertainment and information.

Our issues arise when we have two color commentators (DAAAAAAAAAAAAYUM) or two play-by-plays (Zzzzzz)

People need to more consciously try to fill a specific role with their commentary.

 

[Lumpymoomilk]

perhaps we need like a technical guy (that was a great execution of d1 into spear insert frame data) and a really hype guy like JR off old WWF OMG HE'S BEATING HIM LIKE A GOVERNMENT MULE, BUY MY BBQ SAUCE! Would that work or just be too much clashing of personalities?

 

[Quantus]

perhaps we need like a technical guy (that was a great execution of d1 into spear insert frame data) and a really hype guy like JR off old WWF OMG HE'S BEATING HIM LIKE A GOVERNMENT MULE, BUY MY BBQ SAUCE! Would that work or just be too much clashing of personalities?

The reason that two commentators is the staple is because they have two distinct jobs. The play-by-play commentator and the color commentator.

 

[DownfouralitY]

We need 16-bit to commentate every single tournament. That would solve everything lol

 

[Lumpymoomilk]

do any commentators have BBQ sauce to sell? That may help.

 

[KingHippo]

Also no more girls on laps during commentary. It tends to distract from what's important.

 

[Lumpymoomilk]

 

[K7L33THA]

LOL spam your mouth!

 

[Lt. Boxy Angelman]

I hate barbeque sauce, but that was fucking hillarious.

Quantus nails it home with differentiating between the PbP & the Color halves of the team.

Hype and aesthetics = great fun for those already on the march to competition, and entertainment for the padawans in need of a laugh amidst the brain-eating consumption this game can induce.

 

[Under_The_Mayo]

Wow. 70 replies to this thread. I was happy to rant about my concerns for the community and commentary while on the Kombat Tomb, but I had no idea it would spark the very discussion that we've needed to have for so long. A BIG thank you to KingHippo for following up and making this thread to further bring the issue to light. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in feeling this way.

Pig, thanks for posting about how the commentary will be run at Final Round. I hope it's successful and marks a turning point for things in the future. You can have me on commentary if you want to call me on a cellphone and put a mic to it!! (totally serious)

 

[Pig Of The Hut]

Wow. 70 replies to this thread. I was happy to rant about my concerns for the community and commentary while on the Kombat Tomb, but I had no idea it would spark the very discussion that we've needed to have for so long. A BIG thank you to KingHippo for following up and making this thread to further bring the issue to light. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in feeling this way.

Pig, thanks for posting about how the commentary will be run at Final Round. I hope it's successful and marks a turning point for things in the future. You can have me on commentary if you want to call me on a cellphone and put a mic to it!! (totally serious)

I considered that with you, michaelangelo and any other prominant players who are unable to make it but im pretty sure we will have a delay from what you are seeing to what we're seeing. might be weird.

hey actually if you're available this Saturday 12-7pm (anytime during these hours) we are testing our new stream equipment at a local mk atl tourney and we can test this

 

[Under_The_Mayo]

I considered that with you, michaelangelo and any other prominant players who are unable to make it but im pretty sure we will have a delay from what you are seeing to what we're seeing. might be weird.

hey actually if you're available this Saturday 12-7pm (anytime during these hours) we are testing our new stream equipment at a local mk atl tourney and we can test this

I'm down for it sure. I'll make sure to head to belicoff's house cause he has better internet than me. And then you can call and I'll try to do general commentary so that even if im a little lagged, it'll still be about whats on the screen. We can like, have you hold up your hands with a number, and I say the number as soon as I see it, to see how much lag there is between you doing it and you hearing me.

 

[Sao87]

Just came here to say King Hippo is my vote for commentator at FR and I would be one of the few that believe in his signature.

 

[KingHippo]

Wow. 70 replies to this thread. I was happy to rant about my concerns for the community and commentary while on the Kombat Tomb, but I had no idea it would spark the very discussion that we've needed to have for so long. A BIG thank you to KingHippo for following up and making this thread to further bring the issue to light. It's nice to know that I'm not alone in feeling this way.

Pig, thanks for posting about how the commentary will be run at Final Round. I hope it's successful and marks a turning point for things in the future. You can have me on commentary if you want to call me on a cellphone and put a mic to it!! (totally serious)

It's no problem. You hit the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned, and I think even though Tom already kind of put everyone on notice a few months ago, it deserved to be said again because idk if everyone got it.