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#128

This week, It was a mixture of a few things,

  • A few “off weeks”
  • The side story stuff due to InControl/Wheat being gone (though that was really good),
  • The noise outside John’s place (legit reason of course),
  • Coming off of the Live Live show (with both InControl/Wheat on that show as well),
  • The high amount of info that you are moving and so many things could be in flux (though this wasn’t),
  • No CoS so twitter wasn’t going too crazy w/ all the Rollplay stuff on Tuesdays (I keep track of stuff via twitter WAY more often than the schedule here, though it is nice).

I generally watch the first 2 hours or so live, then go back for the VOD. Only watched about the first hour this week. For this specific session is was a mixture of the pre-show, not seeing the map when it was being referred to, and my own mood that caused me to stop - Though I’ll still go back and watch the VOD.

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#129

I feel like there are 2 things that detract from the show for me:

1 - The late time slot…

2 - I find the core mechanic of the game really kills the mood constantly as a viewer. I don’t remember the exact terminology, but constantly having to stop and have a conversation about a roll’s risk vs effect, then determine a devil’s bargain… by the time they decide what they are rolling I’ve forgotten what the the scene was. Then they have to translate the roll result into a level of success and have a conversation about what it means in this situation. Part of me wishes they would just replace this mechanic with the powered-by-the-apocalypse core mechanic and the game would run so much quicker/smoother/better.

TLDR
I love the setting and the cast, so if it was at a more convenient time I’m sure I’d end up watching it regularly… my minor displeasure toward the mechanics would definitely not be enough to stop me from enjoying the show’s higher points if it were on during a part of the day when I actually want to be watching something like this.

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#130

As with many here, the timeslot is the main factor why I’m not watching the show live.

I always catch up with it afterwards (and have subbed because of that).

#131

It’s starts too late and I have just watched CoS for 4hrs.

I watch the VoD the next day.

#132

I started watching just fine. 8pm wasn’t that big of an issue for me as a starting time. But towards the end of 2016 so many good games started coming out and I ended up spending my nights playing. I just told myself I would watch them on YouTube. Which I did… but I found myself losing interest sadly. It just felt really slow for me. :\

#133

Even though the european problem is part of the reason why I don’t watch live - I do enjoy Johns GMing and the System. But when comparing Roleplay: Blades to the Bloodletters I just find Bloodletter a ways stronger show.

I can kind of see where a lot of people are coming from when they say the system is a little offputting. Blades in the Dark wants to put players into the spotlight and for the gm “to be a fan of the players” which makes for good stories, but make the game have a different feel to its flow. As opposed to the Koebel School of GMing where Opposition is really important this feels a lot more without pressure.

The Bloodletters just take the Devil’s Bargain jousting to a good level where fictional costs feel like they matter. In Roleplay: Blades Devil’s Bargins just feel like they are used less often either because the player try to avoid them more (except maybe zeke) and because Failure seems like a weak force.

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#134

The time zones have been said but I don’t think thats the only issue. With COS before it, thats 8 hours of content. I love both shows but thats too much for me.

Also echoing someones point about John hosting. I love you man but Adam is a bit more experienced and doesn’t really get that dead air sometimes.

#135

As with many here (if you make a poll it would probably be the number 1 reason), the time slot is just not possible for me. 3 am on a Wednesday is just too late for me. I love the show though and I always watch the youtube videos.

As for the game itself, it is different from the other shows in that I kind of miss the feeling of the dice rolls. A crit success or failure in Court of Swords is amazing as were the rolls in Balance of Power. This game is more determined by the interaction between the cast and the world, which not everyone likes I suppose. It is also far less chaotic because of that so you don’t have the cool moments of “wow I did not expect this to happen” or that the crew deviates from the mission.

Like I said, I still like the show but it is a different style from most of the others which is not suited for everyone is my guess.

#136

Reiterating some things others have said, but

  • It's my favorite show of the current lineup. I've watched the majority of the shows since Rollplay first started.
  • The time isn't the best even for US viewers. I'm unable to stay up to catch the full episode a lot of the time and have to watch the VOD.
  • Having cancellations and missing cast doesn't help get the show in a groove. (Though it's usually been outside your control and the 10.5 episode was really great.)
  • I feel like the system is getting in the way too much. I think it's partly because the players still don't have a good enough grasp on it yet, which can slow the pace to a crawl and cause confusion for viewers. Could be a bit on John to try to keep things moving quicker too? I like the system, but it has often felt like the crew is going through the motions too much for the sake of game mechanics. They want to be telling cool stories and growing their characters. If that isn't happening then something is going wrong. I wish I had better ideas of how to handle some things better to make it more viewer friendly, but it's tough. It could just smooth out with more episodes under their belts too.
  • The plot has been a bit all over the place so far. The "list" idea is kind of fun, but it just doesn't feel like there is a single direction that the whole group is moving towards. The closest is the storyline around Aldo, Rune, and Belle I guess?
Someone else mentioned an almost "soft reboot" for the day switch where you really advertise it, recap what has happened, and try to bring in new viewers or reinterest those that have stopped. Could be a good plan.

I think this show could be a lot like a show like Swan Song if it can get rolling, with really great character growth and plot lines, so I’m really rooting for it.

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#137

I think Blades is a Game that rewards System Mastery a lot and in some moments (like in ep. 8 where rune just learned that she can do rituals) it just feels like the cast is a bit off course in regards to the system.

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#138

I agree with what you wrote in here, especially that Wheats character seems a little out of place (as far as I watched till now). Setting: Awesome. Story: Can be really cool. The characters seem all cool in their way, but I feel like they’re not really moving on their own, there’s a lot of ‘let’s go with what John suggested’ in there.

The critique you linked is in no way related to Blades or you worded it really poorly. I also heavily disagree with what you wrote there, because it feels like you’re just really unsatisfied with CoS (which I can’t understand at all, since it’s my favorite show atm :D).

#139

Blades is the only show I currently watch of the Rollplay franchise and the only reason I am currently subscribed and a patron. I don’t watch live because the time is too late but I catch up on the twitch VODs and I’m not an EU viewer. I’ve loved most of the shows put and am a fan of the more narrative focused shows. Nebula Jazz is too silly and the system makes no sense to me and I stopped watching COS because i didnt feel there was any cohesive plot. Geoff and Wheat are my favorite people to watch play, I really hope this show isn’t cancelled. However, the timing of the show has been so bad since the beginning that I think it will be hard to get new viewers interested now that there is a significant amount of content already out.

I also think shows without you on them will tend to have less viewers than if you were on the show since people who watch your channel are fans of yours. Not to say i think that is make or break for a show just that any show with you on it will have more of a draw to people than one without.

2 Likes
#140

I feel extremely uncomfortable responding to this with this potentially taking food out of someone’s mouth. However I can say it’s just too late is the major item. Also I can agree with almost every comment in this thread as they’re pretty spot on. From the positive side of things there were some of the best RollPlay roleplay moments on this show. The first episode was shot out of a cannon and I was so excited and then I kind of dropped off. I went back and made sure to watch the RP moment with Zeke and Anne and that was amazing. A reboot may be a good idea after a discussion between the GM and players. The energy really needs to be kept up and there needs to be a bit more danger. Just my two cents.

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#141

I have an odd relationship with blades compared to the other shows. Its not a show I feel utterly compelled to watch as soon as possible from the VODS (I’m in UK so watching live isn’t feasible at the moment) but then when I do get around to watching it I am completely drawn in to it and love it.

#142

Yeah I fully agree with the above statement.
Blades is the only show I watch these days, and the one keeping me a suscriber, but as EU viewer it is almost impossible to catch live, so I add my number to the twitch VOD to see the witty chat.

#143

For me living in the UK its to late to watch but i sub to watch it later :slight_smile:

#144

The time has been impossible to watch live as someone who works, with the time difference being as it is across the pond (I’m in the UK). I’d need to take the next day of work to even consider it - I can’t even watch the last hour of Court of Swords live. As it stands I catch the Twitch VODs for everything but Nebula Jazz.

It’s my favourite active show on RollPlay otherwise, and my favourite system at present. The upcoming new schedule (Sundays) will have me watching live week-to-week though, assuming it lines up in the time slot the Side Story did, if not (hopefully) earlier.

#145

Rollplay Blades is amazing, I love the show!
I mainly watch the VoDs tho since I live in Sweden and the show airs from 3 to 7 am.
Really hope the show is not cancelled since it one of my absolute favorites.

#146

The show is awesome! But the time (3am - 7am) makes is basically impossible for me to watch live.

#147

Living in Europe the time slot is horrible so live viewing is impossible for me. Additionally the first couple of episodes didn’t really capture my interest so I stopped watching the vods, and as I can’t watch the show live I have no reason catch up. I’ve heard that the roleplaying in the latest episodes are great, but it would take quite a lot of time to catch up so I am hesitant to make the commitment.

I think this is a great idea. If the schedule is correct the new Sunday time slot is great for EU viewers like myself, so if we can watch a couple of hours recap and highlight videos (instead of 10 full episodes) and then be ready for the new time slot that would be great.

1 Like