ModBlog News

18 comments by Henley on Aug 20th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

So its getting to that time again when we sit down and talk mods! Yes the Modcast Live in all its beauty is up to episode number 4 and each time we keep getting the big names in the modding scene. Before we get into that if wish to jump into the chat and hang out with your fellow modders then make sure you have signed up for a Justin.tv account, the show is on Sunday, August 25th at 1200 GMT -7, or if your lazy like me here is a awesome countdown for the exact start of the Modcast Live show!

Hope to see you all there!

Guests this show are:

• Ben and his Team from Nehrim: At Fates Edge (Oblivion)
• Justin from GfG#2 (UT3)
• Bob and the people behind Pirates, Vikings and Knights II (HL2) 

25 comments by stenchy on Aug 8th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

We're not professionals. We never claimed to be. We're amateurs and hopefuls reaching for the skies. Much like many of you that come to this site. So it should not be a surprise to hear that we are moving the Modcast to a different service. Yes, the Modcast will now be hosted on Justin.tv in hopes of achieving a better quality stream. All our adoring fans should be able to hear our voices without having to endure the pitch modulation that makes us and our guests sound like we've all been through sex change operations gone horribly wrong.

So, yes, you will have to sign up for yet another account on another site to participate in the discussion. It's worth it though, we promise. For those who have followed us around through this trying time of wading through audio and video codecs, the jumbles of wires and dropped Skype calls, we thank you. We can only hope to improve —and we are— with every show; all the while having fun along the way. With that out of the way, here's the details for the upcoming show this Sunday, August 10th at 1200 GMT -7. For those of you that can't wrap your head around confusing timezones, here's a countdown clock:

This show has been recorded. Thanks for watching!

Guests this show are:

• Andreas and James from Afraid of Monsters and Cry of Fear (both HL1)
• Mikhail from Paranoia (HL1)
• Brian and Billy from Zombie Panic: Source (HL2)

Here's the resulting show:

Or you can listen to the pure audio stream here on Moddb.com

20 comments by stenchy on Jul 25th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

We're gearing up for the new show just a couple days away. In addition to all the talk about the latest in modding, we're going to be throwing in some machinima discussion too. Special guests for episode 2 of the Live Modcast include:

• Mike, Rob and Zach from Lit Fuse Films
• Casey from Noesis Interactive

Show will be streaming LIVE at 12 pm noon (GMT -7), Sunday, July 27th. Watch it here:

To get in on the action and participate in chat head to our Ustream.tv show page and register for an account.

You can call in live on-air and pose questions, comments or suggestions to the hosts or guest developers. To do that, you'll need Skype (free) and a good microphone handy.

Want to know when to tune in? Here's a handy conversion for you:

• Sunday July 27th, 19.00 GMT (UTC)
• Sunday July 27th, 12:00 PDT (UTC-0700)
• Sunday July 27th, 14.00 CDT (UTC-0500)
• Sunday July 27th, 15.00 EDT (UTC-0400)
• Sunday July 27th, 20.00 BST (UTC+0100)
• Sunday July 27th, 21.00 CET (UTC+0200)
• Sunday July 27th, 22.00 EET (UTC+0300)
• Monday July 28th, 03.00 WST (UTC+0800)
• Monday July 28th, 04.00 CST (UTC+0900)
• Monday July 28th, 05.00 EST (UTC+1000)

21 comments by Henley on Jul 14th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

So here over at ModDB tried some new and exciting things yesterday, we ran our normal Modcast with a live twist to make it more interactive for all you guys out there. And the feedback from the viewers made it an overall success!

But like everything great there are always things to improve on. For example we need to get more footage to display during the cast (5 minutes of looping footage really does detract from the discussion), and with any video there comes the issue of codec's and whatnot. These codec's have to be conditioned in such a way to allow for optimal quality without crapping out on the bandwidth. I'm thinking something like DivX and MP3 or ACC would do it justice. The program we use to stream all this media is similar to how a webcam functions, with the difference being that it streams actual video files (and because of this reason we cannot use the codec's we want or sometimes need to use). And this was the main problem we had with the first ep of the Livecast (cool name eh?), as the footage we originally were going to use was not streaming correctly and this caused a mad rush to get both the media and the codec's organized (it turned out we couldn't use half the stuff anyway).

The next thing that we (myself and Ryan) will need to work on is the overall structure of the cast, I don't mind running for 2 hours straight but sometimes this won't work well with viewers as people apparently have lives as well, with that being said I feel a tighter structure to the overall show would be something that would greatly benefit the show as a whole. This will then move the discussion into the area of segments to the show, whether that being video content (as we can stream whole shows without us talking over the top of the original audio, or both at the same time), audio discussion or extra areas for community interaction both in the chat and through our call in system. Some food for thought would be something like Sneak Peak videos (this would have to be arranged by Moddb staff and mod/indie teams to both create and edit new video content to be streamed to the viewers for the very first time), designated review segments for both mod and indie games, forum/chat interaction and thoughts etc etc.

Next is the area that is the feel of the Livecast, I like to think that the Livecast will one day have a cheesy theme song to help start off the show on a light hearted feel, and I would also like to take this point in the discussion to reach out and ask of you guys feel you can create something amazing to bring the show in (and possibly out as well) then by all means send something to either myself or Ryan and who knows your song could be the theme for the Livecasts :D. On that note this new regular feature is all about your guys, the community of ModDB and this is your chance to get involved and talk to the major players in both mod and indie development, so we will always endeavor to correct the flaws and fix the problems, we just need the feedback from the viewers!

So please leave your comments here and tell us all about what you thought of the Live Modcast... Leave your ideas; leave your woes it's all good and its all positive! We are always open to new ideas and new things to bring you guys!

To bring out the article here is the first cast and the extra footage that could not be aired during the show. Enjoy :D

12 comments by stenchy on Jul 13th, 2008 digg this super bookmark

We're only about half a day away from the show. This page will be your guide to tuning in and getting you set up for participating in chat or on Skype.

Special guests for this show include:

• Alex AKA Mr. Kadish from Killing Floor for UT2004
• Mike AKA Calimer from Platinum Arts Sandbox (Indie) and Last Man Standing for Doom 3

Show will be streaming LIVE at 12 pm noon (GMT -7), Sunday, July 13th. Watch it here:

To get in on the action and participate in chat head to our Ustream.tv show page and register for an account.

You can call in live on-air and pose questions, comments or suggestions to the hosts or guest developers. To do that, you'll need Skype (free) and a good microphone handy.