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Idle thumbs IS BACK (Kickstarter ended) -- Funded in 3 hours
- Thread starter The Dutch Slayer
- Start date
And then they start synching up in really weird ways...
The Dutch Slayer
Member
And we are live ! 
Danne-Danger
Member
Hot Coldman
Banned
Chris has been fired on every layer of the dream.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
The freaking Euro is on right now, don't stream when games are going on
It's just a pre-recorded episode with chat. (The ep is also going out on RSS today.) Sorry it's doubling up with another thing you'd like to watch.
And yeah, re: a page or so back, we realize that we're way behind on getting back to doing stuff regularly. Things are close, though. It's a tough balancing act: Do you tell people the same exact thing over and over ("we're working!") even when there is nothing tangible to show, or do you stay quiet until you have something worth saying? We do finally have the audio equipment up and running now, and it's pretty sick. Did we bite off more than we can chew? Yes! Are we close to getting out from under it? Also yes! This new Progresscast is the first one recorded in the studio, on actual hardware,edited on actual software, and it was a learning experience for us.
It's true for sure that other podcasts gave us a bunch of shit for trying to not half-ass what we're doing, and to a point they're probably right. (That said, while I think that's justified in some cases, it was frustrating to hear those remarks coming out of podcasts who have the benefit of a standing studio, or a shared space in an office somewhere from which to record. For us getting one of those was most of the point.) We probably landed too far on the side of "get everything in place before doing anything," but are pretty focused on just getting launched at this point. Sorry again for the delays.
wolfmat
Confirmed Asshole
Oh I guess I didn't read properly, all good then. I suck.
It is the latest Progresscast, which is already recorded and edited, but we're streaming the MP3 on Twitch so people can have a chat space as it goes out for the first time.
EternalGamer
Banned
Are there any non-professional gaming podcasts that actually have office space or a standing studio? The ones I heard make comments were those like Cheap Ass Gamer and Player One. Neither of those bunch guys have studios and they have full time jobs and they put out weekly podcasts. Neither do the Gamers With Job guys or Brainy Gamer or any number of others.
My whole opinion of this kickstarter has definitely turned for the worse after the initial excitement of more Thumbs wore off, but nice to hear it is apparently close to being back on a regular schedule. No offense meant to you guys, but this whole situition just made me appreciate what a lot other people apparently are able to do regularly with much less.
I remember one specifically shat on the fact that we were raising money, all from within a voice studio inside of the video game localization house at which they all work. We've probably fallen a bit into the trap of "we asked for a little money, we got a lot of money, now we're overdoing the setup phase more than we would have if we'd just received what we asked for," which is admittedly very hard to temper. We're probably doing better about that than some people could/would, but I won't deny that there was a little more indulging going on than there could be. Sorry we've bummed you out.
StevePharma
Member
This was very fun. I should be supporting the Netherlands on Euro 2012 but they were ass anyway. This was better.
NullPointer
Member
Good point. Can you set an overall maximum contribution amount in Kickstarter? I can see how getting more than you bargained for would really put the pressure on.
And thanks for the update. Good luck on sorting things out.
Chris Remo
Member
Really sorry this is all taking so long. We agree that it's really frustrating. If we were able to go back in time, we probably would have done it differently. At this point, we've put enough work into the new site that we really do want to get it finished as planned and launch the main cast along with it, rather than cutting our losses. Once the site actually is up, any further additions to it won't actually cause any interruptions or delays to the cast, since we'll just be working on it in the background.
If they started putting out casts recorded in an apartment or something in the mean time, they would be taken to task for asking for money and still putting out a non professional product. They would have been screwed either way as far as internet reactions go. If you were disappointed in the results of the Kickstarter Jake said a page or so ago to get in touch and they would work something out for you.
Chris Remo
Member
No, I'm pretty sure there's no way to do that in Kickstarter. And thanks!
wolfmat
Confirmed Asshole
Well, I'm not really disappointed. I can wait a little for good stuff. But I also think it's always preferable to communicate status if it's a big deal to the audience.
Like, weekly progress updates on Twitter would be good enough in my opinion, even if it doesn't paint you in a good light because you're procrastinating, not figuring something out, stalling out. Even a simple "We didn't do anything this week, sorry, too much Diablo lolz" is better than nothing, right?
But I guess there's a progresscast in the pipes now, so all is well on that front haha
Like, weekly progress updates on Twitter would be good enough in my opinion, even if it doesn't paint you in a good light because you're procrastinating, not figuring something out, stalling out. Even a simple "We didn't do anything this week, sorry, too much Diablo lolz" is better than nothing, right?
But I guess there's a progresscast in the pipes now, so all is well on that front haha
The Dutch Slayer
Member
Thanks for the updates Chris and Jake, and looking forward to the progcast in my feed.
No problem with the being a little behind/later than expected.
As a backer I have no problem with this.
But sure more info/communication is always appreciated for the future.
[edit] new progcast is up
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/idle-thumbs/~5/xxn5QOPglsQ/idlethumbs_progresscast_120617.mp3
No problem with the being a little behind/later than expected.
As a backer I have no problem with this.
But sure more info/communication is always appreciated for the future.
[edit] new progcast is up
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/idle-thumbs/~5/xxn5QOPglsQ/idlethumbs_progresscast_120617.mp3
CheapyD from the CAGcast does not have a full time job, nor do they record weekly. They'll go 2-3 weeks without a podcast sometimes. Not the best example.
The Dutch Slayer
Member
They have been very consistent this year so far with only 1 week of not recording a podcast so far.
Also Cheapy has 2 full time jobs.
He is full time dad, with getting his kid to school and back, getting him ready in the morning etc.
And he runs CAG on his own, I know that does not sound like much but I just wanted to say I think those are real jobs.
CAG was been really good this year so far.
Yeah you're right. I don't know why I thought they had skipped more weeks than they have. I probably just haven't been visiting the site as much as before.
SirPenguin
Member
Fuck yeah @ new progresscast and updates from Chris and Jake. Thanks to both of you for not being afraid of coming back to this topic and speaking honestly. Sounds like things are coming together.
That being said, you're not doing anyone any favors with remarks like this, Jake:
You don't need to run through this big checklist and vetting process to make a really awesome cast
That being said, you're not doing anyone any favors with remarks like this, Jake:
This is the second or third time you've tried to create this false dichotomy of "we can either do it our way or it can be shit out of our butt gross garbage". It doesn't have to be all or nothing! We've had progresscasts that were set in cars, echo-y offices, etc., and they were great! We loved them!
You don't need to run through this big checklist and vetting process to make a really awesome cast
A whole bunch of people complained and were like "is this the shit I paid for?" In this thread too. People will complain no matter what you do.
EternalGamer
Banned
I doubt the first is the case. Many of the podcasts I listen to are recorded using cheap mics and Skype (CAG cast, Gamers with Jobs, Brainy Gamer, Player One, etc.) and they sound fine. They don't even sound echo-y like the Idle Thumbs progress cast have. We aren't talking about music audio with lots of subtle layers here, we are talking about a podcast.
Anyway, I'm not trying to keep complaining. I've posted in this thread twice in a month. I don't want a refund, it would just be nice if they would be a bit more expedient. I know they keep touting "we want to do it right" line and I appreciate that Chris and Jake are kind enough to reply, it's just that that doesn't really do anything for me at all. For one it implies all those podcasts I enjoy are crappy or aren't doing it right. And second, as others have pointed out, it implies there is no middle ground to be had.
You're right that it doesn't do much good to voice frustration, though. And in the large scheme of things it obviously isn't that big of deal. I'm not tearing the roof down over hear. I just think they haven't handled any of this very well, which is kind of ironic given all their desire to do it right and be "professional." I would say all those "unprofessional" podcasts I listen to are doing a pretty damn good job at seeming more professional in comparison to this effort thus far.
It already happened.
8-4 shat on ya'll? :T
ThusZarathustra
Member
JJ poked fun, if I recall correctly. And they don't have a "voice studio" in the sense of recording voice for games, as much as they have the standard mics and headphones setup most podcasts have. And again, if I recall correctly, they paid for that stuff personally, not out of the company budget. If it really is 8-4 jake is talking about I don't know where he's getting the idea that they record in some sort of professional recording environment. Unless that's just a gross assumption on his part of the oodles and oodles of money that must be in the games localization biz.
But maybe I'm wrong...
They way I see it is as a setup period for some hopefully uninterrupted continual, regular production when the site goes live and Idle Thumbs returns to existence. But I've always joined into most podcasts midway through their runs or lifespans, so I've never seen one being established before.
I don't think anything is ever meant as a sleight against another cast. We all listen to and love a ton of podcasts with a crazy sliding scale of production quality. We did Thumbs for quite a while out of Chris' kitchen and that was rad. The desire for change, as has been said, was originally born out of the practical matter of us just not having a place to regularly record anymore. Chris doesn't live in a place with a space to record and leave all our shit around anymore. We all have housemates, none of us have an office in which we could poach some room to record, and (this is the only real qualitative rule, but I think it's fair) we didn't want to go over Skype because we did (and do) value being in the same space together when doing the podcast.
We didn't think getting things back up and running would take as long as it has. We're insanely thankful for everyone who backed the Kickstarter, and thankful that you're hanging around to listen to what we're doing in the meantime. It's taken long enough to get back into it that surely some people will say "that? that's all this was? fuck you guys" and walk away, and that sucks, and it's something we're more than aware of, but it's the state of things. Hopefully most people will say "welcome back" and just keep listening as if we never left, never (out of necessity) tore everything down, and (out of ambition and passion) put it back together again and took maybe too long to do it.
Yes, its all in service of having fun recording a podcast to talk about games, and that makes it sound dumb and simple, but Thumbs as an entity and as a podcast is personally important to all of us. "Doing it right" isn't a matter of "doing better than somebody else," because we aren't judging Thumbs against somebody else. I don't think there are "competitors" or "enemies" or whatever the hell else in the gaming podcast space. There's personal preference, sure, and maybe there are quarrels out there, but it seems more or less like it's a lot of people doing the particular thing they're passionate about within the space and medium of a video game podcast. "Doing it right" isn't "doing it better," it's "doing the thing we want to do," and we hope you enjoy the results. We definitely know it's currently taking way longer than we thought it would (and that we told you it would, directly or otherwise) and we're right now trying to steer it back around towards launch and towards better communication out.
I feel like I'm barfing all over this thread so I'm probably going to stop now.
bigdaddygamebot
Member
I think most of us trust you guys enough that if you communicate with us and say, "We're working on it. No date yet but we're grinding it out and we'll have something great soon."
We'll believe it.
(At least I would.)
I can understand why you'd be hesitant to fall into a pattern of telling us that multiple times but I think you're underestimating yourselves and the quality of what you've done in the past.
The podcast is worth the wait. Thanks for giving us some info and don't be afraid to share more in the future.
We'll believe it.
(At least I would.)
I can understand why you'd be hesitant to fall into a pattern of telling us that multiple times but I think you're underestimating yourselves and the quality of what you've done in the past.
The podcast is worth the wait. Thanks for giving us some info and don't be afraid to share more in the future.
You guys actually ruined a lot of podcasts for me. It was the first one that was a regular listen (well, regularly catching up on the backlog, anyway) and I was shocked when I heard several others (MBMBaM, for one) that *weren't* done in the same room. And that vibe's always been apparent through the IT cast.
I don't think any guys here are pissed that it's taken unexpectedly long, just that after being bombarded with updates from other kickstarters (at least, in my case... w/ TZ pinball and Carmageddon) it sort of sucked having this void of information regarding the progress of the KS I arguably felt closest to. Just keep us in the loop and I'm sure we'll all be happy
I don't think any guys here are pissed that it's taken unexpectedly long, just that after being bombarded with updates from other kickstarters (at least, in my case... w/ TZ pinball and Carmageddon) it sort of sucked having this void of information regarding the progress of the KS I arguably felt closest to. Just keep us in the loop and I'm sure we'll all be happy
I couldn't disagree more. I've lost count of the podcasts I have stopped listening to because the quality (delay, levels, etc) are so poor that it drives me mad moving the volume up and down depending on who is speaking, or interesting people with interesting things to say unable to get a word in due to skype lag.
I value a well recorded and produced podcast a great deal, and Idle Thumbs was always one of the best. I'm pleased to see the latest progresscast has got rid of the echo of the previous, though unfortunately, the levels are a bit all over the place.
As others have mentioned in this thread. People complained about the quality of the progresscasts (myself included) so they stopped making them. Then people start complaining that there's nothing happening (I was getting a little impatient too). I don't think they can win to be honest. Here's hoping the guys just deliver Thumbs at the end and everyone's happy. I'm pretty confident they will.
I seem to recall that we were promised even louder sirens than before.
Four-channel mixer, right? Run one of those channels to a mic placed outside so they can boost the volume of the sirens as required.
(also disappointed that Jake mentioned "boosting" the volume of the channels but it never went any farther than that. Boo-oost.)
FieryBalrog
Member
sweet
Chris Remo
Member
In this case it's more a software thing. Before, I did all the audio processing "destructively" (that is, actually doing compression, noise reduction, etc. permanently on the files themselves), then editing them. Now, because we're using a digital audio interface, I'm using more legit audio software (Logic Pro in this case), and it handles all of the audio processing through real-time effects. I'm a lot less familiar with working this way and I haven't quite gotten to the point yet where I'm coming up with a great result from the compression, which is what flattens out the levels over time. Hopefully that will improve!