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
The modcast was a hit guys, keep up the good work.
Hmm, I found that there was quite a bit of distortion throughout the show in which voices would change pitch substantially. As far as content and subject, I found that it was well balanced between the previews, reviews, and interviews. Thanks, I'll definitely be listening to the next one.
Like I said already, the livecast was really enjoyable and we all had lots of fun in the chat :)
I'll definitely be around on livecast #2 :)
The thing with incompatible codecs and stuff is .. well .. a bummer, but its ok for the first show.
Once all that is figured it'll be even better :)
The show needs more Ready btw :D
lol.
Aye just needs better codecs and maybe segments for stuff like upcoming games/engines (perfect since E3 started this week), upcoming/released mods, and gameplay footage of you guys playing :D
Can I sumbit Zshare.net as the theme song? lmao
ahahah i had no idea what that was lol :P where was the music :P
Eh I'm probably gonna try and remix it a bit so it sounds like a song. :P
Yes it was great! I'm really looking forward to the next one. How about some semi organized gaming after the show (perhaps a special ModDB server), playing the games/mods that where on the show? And a voice chat server that people can join after the show to talk while they're gaming and a room just for general talk? That'd be so awesome!
Oh, and I could be the official linkage boy for the next show if you want to. ^^
well after ep 1 was finished ryan and a few other did play some CI, and we did go on air afterwards as well. But it wouldn't hurt to get a ventrilo channel or something. But i think ill continue working on the show videos now for the time being.
Where is the Sandbox footage :D LMS is old news, Sandbox is what's in!!! Take care :D
-calimer
PlatinumArts.Net
You got that right! :-D
well i only showed footage that we couldnt show on the actual show :P
My piece of constructive criticism: you should keep the old audio format as well. I mean besides the possibility to watch the recorded video, you should also make available a .mp3 file or something. It would help the guys with lower bandwidth.
I have to agree, I just pop in podcasts to listen to while I work...it not being pure mp3 audio makes it unwieldy.
I'll be uploading a mp3 feed later today.
If you are going to be doing that, I also suggest making a separate RSS feed for the audio modcast and the video modcast. I'm really only interested in downloading audio (I'd rather stream video right on the site), and I'm sure I'm not the only one who'd rather not have audio and video lumped into one feed.
The video podcast doesn't play on my iPhone!
I really enjoyed the live cast. As said early in this comment section, there were random points where the pitch would spike really high, but it would only last half a second or so. The interviews were pretty well done. Unfortunately, it seemed like everyone was trying to yell over each other a lot of the time, and it made the interviews pretty hard to understand. But, it was fun to listen to everyone chime in about their opinions.
The modcast looks like an astounding hit guys. I was really impressed.
I can only pray that my Grayshot webcasts can get to the level you guys are at now. Well done. I look forward to the next one.
Great job!
I had ALOT more fun recording this Modcast than the other ones. It was great doing it live and having community interaction. Thanks to everyone who turned up, asked questions and called in. Hopefully more people can turn up to them in the future.
Awesome modcast guys! Thanks! ;)
I'm awaiting a special modcast for KF 3 :P