Thanks to everyone for their suggestions! In the end I went with a "sign up and vote for the house you'd like to be part of (with 2 backups)" as a strategy to select the most popular Houses for the King's Dilemma LP. This should catch two birds with one stone, hopefully, and make it easier to organize things. By the way, the thread is now live here https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3954050 in case you want to have a look 
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Jan 4, 2021 15:38
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Don't forget to post about it in the new LP thread thread!
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Jan 5, 2021 21:10
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Nea posted:Don't forget to post about it in the new LP thread thread!
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Jan 5, 2021 21:26
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I’m gonna follow the ops advice and make a test post. This is the first update in what would be a Football Manager LP, and although I’ve only read through a few LPs I’m not sure if my style is something that’s very popular, or done much. Basically it’s a narrative run-through of what’s happening in the game. Football Manager is one of those spreadsheet games. There’s very little narrative, and what there is is quite barebones and serves to drive the stats. What I would be doing is translating all those numbers to a story, via the power of imagination. I suppose there’s two things I’m looking for from this... I know LPs are diverse, and can follow their own path, but is this a little too out there? And secondly, when I make my own op, what information do I provide to set people up for the full “experience?” The basics of what this actually is, is that I’m running an expanded database, beyond what the game provides, to go to even lower levels of football where everyone is hungover when they play, and no-one is very good. I’m filling in the blanks of why a thirty something year old with no football experience would get a job as a manager; dodgy dealings and it being a scam (or is it?) I really don’t know where this will go in-game, because the gameplay engine does some strange things at this very amateur level that’s modded in, although it is quite stable and many people play this way (gameplay-wise it's just a bit helter skelter.) Basic questions, really, from someone who’s read a few LPs, has some writing experience, but not so much combined the two things. But this is the testpost/first update/an idea of the style the LP would be following. *** Testpost *** I had to leave my boozer. Everyone was looking at me. Everyone was talking. Up until last weekend I was an assistant greenkeeper on a run down golf course. It was a fine job. I was up just after six to cycle to the course by 7.30am and I was finished by 3pm. Then I could cycle to The Sheep’s Head, get a few drinks, sometimes more, in a place no-one bothered me. I’d have my fill, watch the racing, and cycle home with chips in my basket. I’d make sandwiches for the next morning and have another few beers before bed. I’d pass out. The boss on the course was some red faced fat man who spent his time entertaining in the clubhouse when he was back from living in his second home in Florida. I don’t know where he made his money. Certainly not from green fees because I never saw anyone play a round outside of the few sunny days we got and the school breaks when kids would play for a reduced price. Me and Teddy were sitting in the shed, it was pouring outside, when Mr. Red Faced walked in. “Sir!” Teddy said, as he stood. I stayed sitting. The boss looked at me, not too welcomingly, back at Teddy, growled at Teddy in the way decades of cigars and brandy make throats and lungs, then looked at me. This time with a smile on his face. “Business degree, right?” he said, still smiling perfectly straight, perfectly white, American style teeth at me from between fat porcine cheeks. “Eh...” “Head of clubs at University?!” “I don’t know—” “Father a footballer!” “He was a cu—” The fat man growled again at Teddy, although more a hack, then smiled at me. “How do you know—” I tried to say. He interrupted. “Your CV, and a memory. I remember everything! I know exactly who you are. I knew we were getting a star with big things in her future, but lacking confidence, when your CV came across my desk. Most championships from trampoline club, to table tennis, to football, to that senseless handling balls so-called Irish football while you were president.” “That was ten years—” “You’re going to do the same for me.” His voice had the crunching gravel of a quarry to it and he looked much like a dumptruck with a thick gold chain around its cab. “That football club, boss?” Teddy asked. “Signed and delivered. Got rid of the chaff, brought in some superstars. We’re sorted.” Teddy might as well have cheered so delighted was he looking. The fat boss man looked at me again. “£450.” “What?” “That’s £150 more than you make now.” “What’s going on?” “Fine, glad that’s sorted. You know I own The Sheep’s Head.” “You do?” I said. “Meet me there at 4pm. We’ll sign the papers. There’s a bottle of champagne waiting, to mark the occasion. Then to training.” And that’s how I learned my local boozer was owned by my gammon and gold boss, and how I was the new manager of Tunbridge Wells Football Club, in some Mickey Mouse division, all because I’d been the student rep in charge of sports for the most successful two years in my regional college’s sporting history. And I’d only signed up for that because there was an equestrian club who rode out of the local trainer’s yard giving me tips for the nearby track. I made a few quid from it, too. Which is why I knew, when I was shown into the football club buildings, into my office, and opening my desk, that this was all a giant tax scam, and I was the patsy. The first thing the fat man did was make me sign the wage slips of the few star players he’d brought in. There was no evidence of accounts anywhere but I signed the wages for four semi-pro players and the entire team’s non-contract wages, and when I protested I was reminded I still needed my greenkeeping job during the day. “Make the best of it Aine,” he told me. “Top of the league is what I expect. Or near the top. We have the superstars. Good young lads. I know them well, or at least their Dads. Knew them since kids, really. Good lads,” he trailed off. “Good business,” he muttered. And then I was ushered out onto the training grounds to greet my team; most of whom were the young staff from The Sheep’s Head and their various hangers on. The serious players, unlike the young fellas in Aldi sweatpants and trainers, were decked out in the proper kit. “You’re the boss?” one of them asked. I didn’t want to say anything, but when Dim Trev, who’s only job in The Sheep’s Head seemed to be running to the bookies for people, stopped kicking the goalpost to clear mud off his shoes they all quietened and looked at me. “I guess I am." I guess I had no choice. So I thought back to my dad taking me to his clubs when I was a smallie and ran them through some drills. Watching them, lost in my own mind, it was only after ten or so minutes I heard my gammon boss’s voice penetrate through my foggy skull. He was screaming at the young fellas to look lively, and saying he’d throw two bottles of Glenmorangie behind the bar if they gave it their all. They all laughed while the guys earning somehow-dodgy money were doing sprints. That’s why I had to leave my boozer. They were all in on it. All those young fellas knew exactly what kind of pub it was, exactly who the owner was, exactly what was paying their wages (and the source of this I’m not sure myself) and I was the unwitting fool it was all being run through. I’d have to make the most of it. I’d not find another greenkeeping job if he blackballed me. I didn’t know what our “star players” were getting out of all this, even if they were only young lads, and I didn’t know precisely what type of scam this all was. All I knew was I was expected to bring this team, mostly of chancers sourced from my boss’s enterprises, with his few star players on big money, to the top of the league, or else face scrutiny of why, exactly, I was funneling unknown cash through an unknown bar to unknown players in a team run by me, an unknown manager, with nary a coaching qualification to my name. I was in at the deep end. So of course I had to find a new boozer where I could get some peace, one not run by a criminal boss, and my new spot didn’t even show the horse racing. Mrenda fucked around with this message at 13:05 on Jan 8, 2021 |
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Jan 8, 2021 13:00
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I would recommend to insert a few images if possible, to make the text easier to follow through. Since the last FM I've played was probably 20y ago, providing super applicable insight may be a bit difficult for me, but I would say maybe add a picture of what you are talking about when you mention some details; so if there is a "boards of directors" screen, maybe add a picture of that when you talk about the management or if you mention a player, add a picture of the player himself (if it's available). Or maybe a picture of the league's teams when you talk about the league structure, and so on. I would suggest a classic as an example (although you would probably use way less images) is Guavamoment's OG X-Com LP. They insert an image representing what they are talking about every time it seems relevant, even if the narration is 90% something they came up with and not part of the game itself. Your LP is probably going to have less "play by play" screenshots, but I think something to add an element of visual memory really helps; at the very least, I would suggest you use bolded text here and there to make important elements stand out. That Italian Guy fucked around with this message at 13:24 on Jan 8, 2021 |
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Jan 8, 2021 13:21
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I'm about to start my first LP and I made an Let's Play Sandrah Saga - A Baldur's Gate Adventure (Also featuring: CHARNAME)  Bioware's Baldur's Gate series of RPGs are some of the most beloved games in their genre. From the first game's release in 1998 to its vastly superior sequel's expansion in 2001 they quickly became favorites of CRPG fans around the globe. Its popularity re-surged after Beamdog released the Enhanced Editions in 2012 and 2013 respectively as well as Siege of Dragonspear, a new expansion to the original game that was released in 2016. The games are also known for having a surprisingly large modding community and this Let's Play will focus on these mods most of all, or rather one mod in particular: Sandrah Saga. As a result this Let's Play will not focus too much on Baldur's Gate's original content aside from the main story beats. Players unfamiliar with Baldur's Gate will probably be better off reading a 'vanilla' LP in addition to this one if they want to follow along. This LP will also be focussing more on dialogue/story instead of regular gameplay, in part because despite playing the games since their release I'm still a piss-poor player but also because that'd make the LP too drat long. Mod-specific areas as well as interesting new game mechanics (if any) will obviously receive a bit more attention in this regard. Please try to contain your inevitable frustration at my horrific way of playing. Constructive criticism however is of course more than welcome. By this point you're probably asking yourself what the Sandrah Saga is all about. Allow me to answer that question at least somewhat: quote:"With the EET possibility to play the Baldur’s Gate once again as one continuous game, the Sandrah Saga tries to create a character with her very own storyline spanning the complete saga (and more) who can accompany the player throughout the game. Her story is connected in many ways to the Bhaalspawn’s own quests. You might be thinking that this sounds like a slightly-larger-than-usual NPC mod but you'd be sorely mistaken. This mod is one of the more ambitious BG 'megamod' projects. It includes entire new areas and aims to rival the main character's story in scope. Sandrah is infamous for being an enormous Mary Sue in every single aspect whose story quickly eclipses anything else going on in the game right up until the end. The mod even includes content set after the end of Throne of Bhaal. Few megamods rival it in the amount of content it adds, in this Let's Play we'll see if said content is actually worthwhile. The mod is rather infamous for its large amount of crossmod content, with dozens of mods having Sandrah-specific content added to them often without the permission of their respective modders. Some of these mods seem to be essential to Sandrah's story which is why I've decided to install pretty much all of them so that we can enjoy this trainwreck the way it was intended. The mod list can be found in the readme of the mod which you can find in the link above. This will be a (mostly) blind playthrough. Some aspects of this LP are set in stone, I am planning on bringing certain NPCs with me and my attitude towards Sandrah will be as friendly as possible since the mod seems to be geared towards that attitude. Suggestions on pretty much everything else are not only welcome but in fact encouraged, especially if some of you have already played this mod before. These people are encouraged to use spoiler tags when discussing content that I haven't reached yet, however. As this is my first Let's Play I am also encouraging everyone to let me know if I do something wrong/don't show enough so I can learn as I go. --------- I figure I'll make a second post for the table of contents/interesting comments. Vichan fucked around with this message at 11:21 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 11:07
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Well that's..an intro, but what part of it is a test post at all? Not trying to be rude or anything, but you haven't shown anything at all.
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Jan 17, 2021 11:14
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kirbysuperstar posted:Well that's..an intro, but what part of it is a test post at all? Not trying to be rude or anything, but you haven't shown anything at all. 'Test post' might have been the wrong thing to say, you're right. The LP rules said that the Sandcastle was for hints, advice and quality checks and I wanted to run a draft of my OP through here to see where I could improve. The LP itself will be screenshot-heavy and I'm not really anxious about that part of the whole thing.
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Jan 17, 2021 11:20
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Even if you don't think you need a full testpost, I still recommend making one just to make sure the workflow you're thinking of using will work properly. A dry run through your update-making plan is a very good idea. The OP itself looks completely inoffensive and conveys what it needs to.
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Jan 17, 2021 11:45
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TeeQueue posted:Even if you don't think you need a full testpost, I still recommend making one just to make sure the workflow you're thinking of using will work properly. A dry run through your update-making plan is a very good idea. Alright, will do. quote:The OP itself looks completely inoffensive and conveys what it needs to. That's great! Thank you.
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Jan 17, 2021 12:19
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Test post: https://lpix.org/sslptest/index.php?id=158113 Vichan fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 18:23
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Use the test poster please.
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Jan 17, 2021 18:41
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ultrafilter posted:Use the test poster please. All that work and I forget a thing like that, thanks!
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Jan 17, 2021 18:48
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one immediate thing! screenshots should not look like this!  screenshots should look like this! whatever you're doing for this pic, you should be doing for all pics. if your screenshots are too big, you need to crop and/or resize them. [timg] tags help nobody and make things worse 
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Jan 17, 2021 21:49
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Yeah, nobody wants to click on every image in an LP. LPs are big. People can cope. One thing you may want to keep in mind though is that the LP Archive has a max image width of 900px. That's only an issue if you want the LP archived at the end of course.
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Jan 17, 2021 21:52
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Thirding the screenshot readability. Also, FWIW, it didn't seem like "massive amounts of screenshots"; you could honestly have kept a lot more of the screenshots rather than summarizing if you want and it'd be totally fine; it's a screenshot LP of a massive, famously text-heavy RPG so people know what they're getting into. Especially for conversations, it can often be interesting to readers to see the 'other options' that you didn't select.
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Jan 17, 2021 22:20
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Thank you guys so much!MagusofStars posted:Thirding the screenshot readability. Gotcha, I'm cropping/resizing the pictures now. Definitely going to add in more. Adding them all would probably be overkill so I guess I'll have to pick and choose the best ones. EDIT: I guess I can edit some one liners in any given conversation together in one single image, that'd work. EDIT 2:  Big improvement IMO Vichan fucked around with this message at 22:48 on Jan 17, 2021 |
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Jan 17, 2021 22:27
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Vichan posted:Thank you guys so much! IrfanView allows you to resize groups of images in batches to specific sizes and convert them to different file types so you don't have to waste time doing each image individually. Other than that, you can put as many or as few images in as you feel are needed. Just remember, you only have 50,000 characters per post to play around with and image links in BBCode take up quite a bit of space. Reader feedback will then be a good gauge for scaling things from that point forward.
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Jan 17, 2021 22:48
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nine-gear crow posted:IrfanView allows you to resize groups of images in batches to specific sizes and convert them to different file types so you don't have to waste time doing each image individually. Other than that, you can put as many or as few images in as you feel are needed. Just remember, you only have 50,000 characters per post to play around with and image links in BBCode take up quite a bit of space. Reader feedback will then be a good gauge for scaling things from that point forward. Downloaded, thanks! https://lpix.org/sslptest/index.php?id=158122 There, much better. I feel way more confident about the whole thing now!
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Jan 18, 2021 16:34
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just scrolling through quickly, it looks much better! seems to me like you're ready to go (people who know things about file formats and/or filesize optimization may have stuff to say, maybe? but i do not know this wizardry)
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Jan 18, 2021 17:03
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The only thing I can think of is that IIRC the LP Archive will automatically resize shots to 900 width at most, so some of those might wind up smaller if you request the thread to be archived when completed. It looks fine, though.
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Jan 18, 2021 17:05
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Baldurk will mass-resize all images above 900 width but really, you should likely either design the LP to be archival-friendly from the start or forgo the archival request.
Kanfy fucked around with this message at 17:47 on Jan 18, 2021 |
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Jan 18, 2021 17:43
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Thank you all, all images are now under 900 width. I'm going to work on my OP a bit more and then it's time to throw it out into the wild!
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Jan 18, 2021 18:51
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Agreed, the revised version looks great. Don't forget to drop a post in the New LP Thread Thread when you're up and running. I personally use that as my go-to for new LP's and practically never skim the main forum page; I don't think I'm the only one.
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Jan 18, 2021 19:29
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Hey, sorry if I'm dredging up some old forum drama I don't know about, but it's something that I've been curious about for a few years now and I never could quite find an answer. Does anyone know what happened to JordanKai's old Crash Bandicoot LP series? I remember it being absolutely excellent, but at some point it (and it alone) got taken down from his channel. Was it a copyright thing?
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Feb 2, 2021 10:19
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So I want to try my hand at an LP, and I made a test post for the OP and first update. Could I get some feedback before I make the thread? https://lpix.org/sslptest/index.php?id=158237 https://lpix.org/sslptest/index.php?id=158236
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Feb 12, 2021 12:45
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BisbyWorl posted:So I want to try my hand at an LP, and I made a test post for the OP and first update. Could I get some feedback before I make the thread? I don't see any major issues with it. You've used quite a few gifs in that first update, so I'm not sure what that will do for people on mobile or using data plans. Then again, I haven't see a lot of gif usage in the LP's I've read, so I don't know if there's any kind of taboo against their overuse. From what I see, I think you're good to just post.
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Feb 12, 2021 13:07
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BisbyWorl posted:So I want to try my hand at an LP, and I made a test post for the OP and first update. Could I get some feedback before I make the thread? Immediate first thought: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I love this game  from there... quote:Going into the Sub Tank menu, we can see a rather interesting bit of design for Command Mission. Namely, that these are pretty much all the healing options we get for the entire game! Instead of the usual escalation of lowly potions up to Look out for weird linebreaks like this one, the line before megalixers is broken up oddly. Beyond that it looks perfectly serviceable.
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Feb 12, 2021 13:20
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BisbyWorl posted:So I want to try my hand at an LP, and I made a test post for the OP and first update. Could I get some feedback before I make the thread?
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Feb 12, 2021 14:10
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Psycho Knight posted:I don't see any major issues with it. You've used quite a few gifs in that first update, so I'm not sure what that will do for people on mobile or using data plans. Then again, I haven't see a lot of gif usage in the LP's I've read, so I don't know if there's any kind of taboo against their overuse. I do try to keep my gifs within lpix's size limit, at least. TeeQueue posted:Immediate first thought: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I love this game Commander Keene posted:Looks good! Thanks!
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Feb 12, 2021 14:27
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Psycho Knight posted:I don't see any major issues with it. You've used quite a few gifs in that first update, so I'm not sure what that will do for people on mobile or using data plans. Then again, I haven't see a lot of gif usage in the LP's I've read, so I don't know if there's any kind of taboo against their overuse.
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Feb 12, 2021 14:55
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Thanks everyone, I posted the thread.
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Feb 12, 2021 14:59
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Is it wrong to produce an LP that is objectively a slog that no one will consume because it is fun, and also you don't know what to edit out? I'm doing Pathologic 2 right now, I know there's an LPing in SA doing it too, I'm just recording my own for Pathologic 2 for funsies because I'm a fan of the bumbling super long form lets plays of streamers (Gab) and SGF and just got the game. I produced an unpublished/unuploaded dark souls series, and prey series.... And I just have to know if what I'm doing is morally wrong. Producing content for your solely your own indulgence... These games can be somewhat meandering and usually involve a lot of reading, which I'm personally fine with; But should I be putting time and effort into learning how to edit them to make the videos more attractive... Or be fine with producing them for myself.
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Feb 12, 2021 18:32
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there's nothing in the rules against it. please feel free to try it out. you may find an audience you may not  but the sandcastle is here if you want suggestions for LP formatting. post a test post if you want feedback.
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Feb 12, 2021 18:51
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MythosDragon posted:I have all the illustrations, character art, and expressions ready and got default portraits made and uploaded for the program thing I learned back then before realizing I was about to take on a huge responsibility that was several times larger than expected without an all around LPing program I thought existed, also I suck at writing as evidenced by my test post. Growlanser Realm was my source for it all, so all I'm really doing you is saving you the time to save them individually, but here's the mediafire link. Quoting this from the Req thread to try and get Mythos-senpai to notice me. Do you have any interest in taking this request on together? Or would you prefer to just be a reader of it? I'm trying to put something together for when the Sweet Fuse LP is finished (which will probably take about two months, I'd imagine). I have all the files you collected for this, but I bailed on the request back in May because I just wasn't feeling it at the time due to lockdowns and job loss and exchange semester cancellations and all that other depressing poo poo. I'm asking because after poking through the files a little more, I realize that you appear to have put a lot of preparation work into starting that LP, including a test post. It's basically turn-key as far as SSLP's go. I also need to get the weird text issue with Growlanser: WOT fixed. It's still causing the in-game text to go to hell whenever I open a menu.
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Feb 13, 2021 15:22
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Toalpaz posted:I'm doing Pathologic 2 right now, I know there's an LPing in SA doing it too, I'm just recording my own for Pathologic 2 for funsies because I'm a fan of the bumbling super long form lets plays of streamers (Gab) and SGF and just got the game. I produced an unpublished/unuploaded dark souls series, and prey series.... And I just have to know if what I'm doing is morally wrong. Producing content for your solely your own indulgence... I don't think it's morally wrong at all. Longplays are a thing. If you enjoy something, chances are you aren't *that* unique and that there are others who would as well. If you care about having an audience, that's another matter - then you need to try to understand what most people want and provide that - but the more styles the merrier when it comes to LPs I say.
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Feb 13, 2021 19:06
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Toalpaz posted:Is it wrong to produce an LP that is objectively a slog that no one will consume because it is fun, and also you don't know what to edit out? My advice is just to LP a game that you enjoy and show it off in a way that you're comfortable doing it. Plenty of games have been LP'd multiple times by various different people, it usually helps if you have a new take on it. My advice is just to post, it's pretty rare that an LP on this forum doesn't gather a following.
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Feb 13, 2021 20:36
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I'll be trying my luck with my first LP, so here's a few test posts: OP: https://lpix.org/sslptest/index.php?id=158361 (1/3 of a) Update 1: https://lpix.org/sslptest/index.php?id=158362 Any and all feedback is helpful, but I'm especially interested in a few of the images I'm using where the text gets kind of small to read. The in-game text is already pretty small (you can't resize the game window) and resizing the width to 900px does it little favors. I'll mostly try to crop the images to only contain the relevant info, but I still want to showcase some screens where the info is really spread out.
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Mar 5, 2021 17:03
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So I changed my SA name a couple years back now. Can I just email Baldurk with a request to update the names on my old LPs, with links to each outdated LP? The archive guidelines say he won't edit an LP after it's been submitted, but it seems more geared towards typos and the like so I wasn't sure if he'll update outdated creator names.
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Mar 15, 2021 18:29
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Hamsterlady posted:So I changed my SA name a couple years back now. Can I just email Baldurk with a request to update the names on my old LPs, with links to each outdated LP? The archive guidelines say he won't edit an LP after it's been submitted, but it seems more geared towards typos and the like so I wasn't sure if he'll update outdated creator names. If you reach out to baldurk I'm sure they'd likely honor that request, they're quite nice; no harm in trying.
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Mar 15, 2021 22:21
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