It's funny how battleship and chess games were some of the most thrilling content at EZA for the past year haha. Wouldn't have expected it.
Easy Allies |OT3| Begin corrections music, please...
- Thread starter fireworksordie
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I'm not worried about what the money goes to at all...I don't care if they split it 8 ways and buy Lego sets. But I think they have earned my (our? hopefully?) trust that they will spend it responsibly after many years of forthright communication and how they've conducted themselves as a business.
This fundraiser is supposed to be building excitement for the future, and it is for me at least. I'm happy to see what becomes of the goals and things they produce out of this, but I am just as encouraged to see the Allies with a spring in their step and their own excitement for what comes next for their business.
This fundraiser is supposed to be building excitement for the future, and it is for me at least. I'm happy to see what becomes of the goals and things they produce out of this, but I am just as encouraged to see the Allies with a spring in their step and their own excitement for what comes next for their business.
Jones' Mindful Games trailer sold me on the idea more than the verbal pitch could. Highlighting aspects of video games that usually don't get highlighted is exemplary use of editorial freedom.
This is their business. That is literally the entire point.
What you're saying is fairly ignorant because it not only ignores how the industry works but the fact that most groups like theirs have been hit hard during the pandemic while working from home.
Kinda Funny is a much bigger business with more employees and marketing deals than EZA yet they still do a yearly fundraising month to celebrate their anniversary (even more the pandemic). And they just redid their entire show schedule to add daily multi-hour Twitch streams that also act as fundraisers (the streams get extended when they reach certain daily goals).
I personally feel that overall EZA has adapted well to wfh after the first few awkward months + losing Kyle. I think Jones has really made the podcast his own and I still greatly enjoy listening to it. Friend Code/Frame Trap 90% of the time I wouldn't know in audio format they weren't in studio together. Their reviews are still incredibly well done any my only issue with them is they're sometimes delayed but there is only so much they can do if companies like Nintendo won't play ball.
Hunting Huber is great and tbh I don't think being in the studio would improve that show at all. Really the biggest things I miss without the studio are Prison of Love, the Board Game Show, and Don's Design Lab, but I think the allies give enough content without them.
Hunting Huber is great and tbh I don't think being in the studio would improve that show at all. Really the biggest things I miss without the studio are Prison of Love, the Board Game Show, and Don's Design Lab, but I think the allies give enough content without them.
While I agree in some level with the criticism here, it seems that people voice it somewhat personally, which I guess comes from feeling frustrated from something that you feel or felt invested in. That's usually not the coolest way to get a message across to other people.
I do feel EZA needs to think of ways to be less iterative and come up with different things and things that feel different, more often. Easier said than done I know, not everyone is capable of doing that and certainly not with a regular frequency.
They are really good on their editorial side, but I think long term they do have to be (more) entertaining, while also not feeling forced.
The Gen That Was, is a good idea, Achieve It Yourself and Hall of Greats are also great examples.
It's a shame that even though a lot of this is great content, that feels like it should've done better views and visibility wise, it didn't. So that may contribute in they not investing as much effort in the same kind of productions.
P.s. not suggesting they are doing effortless stuff, nor that I know what direction they are heading
I do feel EZA needs to think of ways to be less iterative and come up with different things and things that feel different, more often. Easier said than done I know, not everyone is capable of doing that and certainly not with a regular frequency.
They are really good on their editorial side, but I think long term they do have to be (more) entertaining, while also not feeling forced.
The Gen That Was, is a good idea, Achieve It Yourself and Hall of Greats are also great examples.
It's a shame that even though a lot of this is great content, that feels like it should've done better views and visibility wise, it didn't. So that may contribute in they not investing as much effort in the same kind of productions.
P.s. not suggesting they are doing effortless stuff, nor that I know what direction they are heading
I watched the first hour/Mario Kart part and I really enjoyed it. I think it was a good start to their celebration.
I am still not thrilled about most of the games they are planning to play, but it is what it is with COVID and al and I want to make sure that me not feeling it has anything to do with EZA. I don't think it does. I am not exactly sure why it is, but it's probably a combination of me not having holidays at the moment, the games they chose (but again, I understand because of COVID) and just me only having so much time and I'm really into Yakuza Like A Dragon which I started last week, so yeah my little free time I have is more likely to go into that one.
I will probably put on some of the VODs during work if possible (Jason basically convinced me to at least check out the Chess part at least a bit).
I am still not thrilled about most of the games they are planning to play, but it is what it is with COVID and al and I want to make sure that me not feeling it has anything to do with EZA. I don't think it does. I am not exactly sure why it is, but it's probably a combination of me not having holidays at the moment, the games they chose (but again, I understand because of COVID) and just me only having so much time and I'm really into Yakuza Like A Dragon which I started last week, so yeah my little free time I have is more likely to go into that one.
I will probably put on some of the VODs during work if possible (Jason basically convinced me to at least check out the Chess part at least a bit).
Well, that chess stream is completely holding me off my work (which is probably not great, but fuck it).
I am way too bad at chess to understand it properly. I technically know how to play chess in that I know all the moves and rules, but that's about it.
But I am still enjoying myself. The tensions is insane.
Edit:
Also, Brexit basically made it impossible for most European countries to buy any of the shirts/posters without paying customs/extra postal expenses. Which is probably not worth it for me. Customs + postal expenses always starts at 30-40 euro for me for anything that costs over 20 euro, so yeah. I am not going to try and get a shirt that's probably going to be at least 60 - 70 euro after all the extra costs. I don't even think it matters any more if I buy at the US or UK shop, it's going to be all the same. But it's probably a lot better for UK residents that roosterteeth has a US and a UK shop.
Obviously nothing that EZA can help and I do hope they sell a lot of them, but that cuts out quite a bit of people except if they want to take the risk. Maybe it's less extreme in some European countries, but I noticed that after Brexit they are way more strict (over here in Belgium at least) with checking imports from all over the world. I had to pay extra for shops that never got checked before, so I'm even less inclined to take a risk on this.
I am way too bad at chess to understand it properly. I technically know how to play chess in that I know all the moves and rules, but that's about it.
But I am still enjoying myself. The tensions is insane.
Edit:
Also, Brexit basically made it impossible for most European countries to buy any of the shirts/posters without paying customs/extra postal expenses. Which is probably not worth it for me. Customs + postal expenses always starts at 30-40 euro for me for anything that costs over 20 euro, so yeah. I am not going to try and get a shirt that's probably going to be at least 60 - 70 euro after all the extra costs. I don't even think it matters any more if I buy at the US or UK shop, it's going to be all the same. But it's probably a lot better for UK residents that roosterteeth has a US and a UK shop.
Obviously nothing that EZA can help and I do hope they sell a lot of them, but that cuts out quite a bit of people except if they want to take the risk. Maybe it's less extreme in some European countries, but I noticed that after Brexit they are way more strict (over here in Belgium at least) with checking imports from all over the world. I had to pay extra for shops that never got checked before, so I'm even less inclined to take a risk on this.
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Oh weird, must be a country by country thing. Someone in chat told me that the price for shipping went down from 19 Euro to 3.40 by going through the UK shop instead.
I'm sure shipping is way cheaper, but once things shipped from the UK get in the country customs gets a hold of them and put 21% VAT on them (on the article + shipping + postal costs). Our postal costs are insane, they depend on the price from 20 euro and up, but I believe they basically start at a 30 euro rate for everything from 20 - 100 euro or something (and this is for basically anything that gets taxed by customs). So that means that the full price will become (shirtprice + shipping + 30) * 1.21 (21% VAT extra).
I don't have any problem at all with paying VAT (although I do have a problem with paying VAT on shipping costs), I prefer to use Amazon Japan compared to a lot of other other Hong Kong and Japanese shops for soundtracks for example because you can pay VAT via Amazon (which means customs doesn't charge any more), but the extra flat rate by are postal system is what always breaks it unfortunately.
Before Brexit it would have been free for import, but what can you do. I used to buy quite a bit from UK stores, but it's basically not as feasible any more (except if they fabricate weird ways of shipping the products which means it takes 1 to 1.5 months to ship from the UK to Belgium to circumvent this by going through different countries).
But I'm sure it will be better in other countries and I was wrong in thinking the price of the US and UK store would be the same, since that's a big difference in shipping costs and the extra costs should be the same for the US and UK store. I really hope you guys can sell as many of them as possible since they look great and you deserve all the income you can get.
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It's their anniversary week and it's not mentioned on the schedule (https://easyallies.com/), so I don't think so.
But I haven't watched all that much of the streams, so I might have missed it.
yah, was wondering if I had missed any of the discussion during their streams. I know they said they have more "surprises" that are under embargo, so maybe some of it is tied to whatever may be announced later this week.
Yeah, the shipping is £3.40 but the issue is the tarriffs that are now involved with getting it through the EU border now that the UK isn't in the Single Market. The problem MrMette will have is that he'll buy a shirt, it will get all the way to the border of his country and then Customs will send him a letter saying, give us another $20 or we won't release this parcel.
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Hall of Great starts in 6 hours! What are the predictions for nominees?
Dungeons and Dragons is unbanned, perhaps Ian will bring it for a third time lucky?
I think someone's going to bring Arkham City, but I'm not sure if it'll be Huber or Jones.
I think tonight is the night someone brings Breath of the Wild.
Did they have a general rule how old the game has to be before it's eligible as a nominee? If BotW is old enough, then I could def see someone bringing that. Insta win though haha.
I have a feeling it's Hollow Knight or Diablo 2's time to shine!
would love to say it's fifth time lucky for Silent Hill 2 but I feel like it's forever going to be the great omission ;;
Damiani and Brad have the most games in the Hall of Greats, with Don with 0. Looking forward to watching Don get one in sooner rather than later.
I'm bored so random guesses:
Ben - Persona 3-5 (not sure which is his favorite) or Diablo II
Brandon - Red Ded Redemption or SSX Tricky
Ian - No idea. He usually brings back his games to re-pitch them, so maybe Metal Gear Solid 3 or Myst
Huber - God of War (2018) or Uncharted 2
Damiani - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Earthbound (or something related to Nintendo)
Bloodworth - Half-Life 2 or one of the Mario Kart games
Brad - Sekiro or maybe a surprise Western game (Halo or GTA related)
Don - Civilization VI or maybe a pinball game
I would shut that down so hard. One of the worst campaigns from Bungie's output, and the multiplayer barely held together by the seams and full of glitches, exploits, and generally poor balance. I have fond memories of it, don't get me wrong, but Halo 2 is one of the last choices for Halo games to be put there.
No rule, but there seemed to be a general hesitancy to vote for something so recent when someone (Huber?) brought God of War 2018. If I had to present a game I might be scared off something really recent due to that. But, 4 years out from BotW now, I think that's a bit safer.
I just heard about it from the EZX stream. They might have mentioned it on the podcast but I'm just so used to tuning out when they talk about patreon stuff.
Okay cool, thanks. It's a bit annoying because I don't get patreon emails for the podcasts and they don't seem to have a tag if I look on patreon
It's only been for a few weeks. It materialises as extra L&R questions.
Bens pictures killed me. Those outfits and his tiny little face lmao
I think I would have done:
3 - Super Mario Galaxy
2 - Silent Hill 2
1 - Dance Dance Revolution
2 - Silent Hill 2
1 - Dance Dance Revolution
I really can't decide which more derves to go in, Arkham Asylum and Arkham City. Having recently played it for the deepest dive, the world design and themes in Asylum are wonderful, but I can't get away from the fact that City is just better gameplay wise. Bosses that people still talk about to this day, a combat system that expertly iterated on what made Asylum so unique, and brought in much needed variety and options. Asylum's ending is one of the biggest fumbles in Video Games, and City's ending is exquisite.
I honestly could not decide which game should be in the Hall.
As for what I would have voted:
3- God of War
2- Batman: Arkham Asylum
1- Dance Dance Revolution
I honestly could not decide which game should be in the Hall.
As for what I would have voted:
3- God of War
2- Batman: Arkham Asylum
1- Dance Dance Revolution
My HOG votes would have been:
1. SH2 (3 votes)
2. Diablo II (2 votes)
3. DDR (1 vote)
2. Diablo II (2 votes)
3. DDR (1 vote)
Dance Dance Revolution
Dishonored 2
Silent Hill 2 (Winner - most votes)
Diablo 2 (Winner)
Trials HD
God of War (2018)
Super Mario Galaxy
Batman Arkham Asylum
Dishonored 2
Silent Hill 2 (Winner - most votes)
Diablo 2 (Winner)
Trials HD
God of War (2018)
Super Mario Galaxy
Batman Arkham Asylum
Love Hall of greats,
loved dons Court room style presentation!
Really disappointed dishonored 2 got banned one of my favourites, but I had no idea brad was so passionate about it which was nice to find out.
My votes would have been:
Dishonored 2 - 3
Silent Hill 2 - 2
God of War - 1
Really disappointed dishonored 2 got banned one of my favourites, but I had no idea brad was so passionate about it which was nice to find out.
My votes would have been:
Dishonored 2 - 3
Silent Hill 2 - 2
God of War - 1
My votes would have been
Great HoG. All of them deserved a chance of being voted for from what I know about the games and great presentations (shoutout to Don, that was fantastic).
1. Trials HD (3 Votes): I love that game. I played it almost daily for a couple of months back in the day and went back to it regularly afterwards. Going from unable to beat the last level for hours until finishing it with only 3 faults in under 2 minutes. It made it way easier to go through all of the newer ones as well since I could just finish all the base levels in 1 try, although it's more difficult nowadays since I almost never play them any more. Trials HD is probably still my favourite one of the series.
2. Silent Hill 2 (2 Votes): I personally only played parts of it myself, but I remember being at a friends place going through this one during the night in a dark room and it was amazing.
3. Super Mario Galaxy (1 Vote): I never played this one myself, but I have heard so many good things about it and it just felt right to vote for it. I do own the collection on Switch and I am planning of playing it though.
2. Silent Hill 2 (2 Votes): I personally only played parts of it myself, but I remember being at a friends place going through this one during the night in a dark room and it was amazing.
3. Super Mario Galaxy (1 Vote): I never played this one myself, but I have heard so many good things about it and it just felt right to vote for it. I do own the collection on Switch and I am planning of playing it though.
Great HoG. All of them deserved a chance of being voted for from what I know about the games and great presentations (shoutout to Don, that was fantastic).
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Would have voted
3- Arkham Asylum: besides still being my favorite Arkham game for how tight and focused it is, nailed so many things out of the gate it's still the standard superhero games are compared to. I think Rocksteady made it in 21 months? Which is insane. Metroid Prime is revered for be way better than anyone expected, Asylum should be considered in similar light.
2- Silent Hill 2: It was past time to get in, only reason I wouldn't give it 3 was it felt like it was going to make it this time around
1- DDR: Not a game I'm drawn to at all, but have to give it props for its unique experience, longevity, and influence
2- Silent Hill 2: It was past time to get in, only reason I wouldn't give it 3 was it felt like it was going to make it this time around
1- DDR: Not a game I'm drawn to at all, but have to give it props for its unique experience, longevity, and influence
Thought it was fun and the final results were surprising. Also was able to sorta predict 5/8 of the picks (or what type of game they would go with)
Was glad to see Damiani's typical Nintendo gimme pick not get in, regardless of how great Super Mario Galaxy is. I like surprise picks with presentations to sway the panel.
3 Points - Silent Hill 2
2 Points - Diablo II
1 Point - Dance Dance Revolution
I would love to see Don get a game in to see his award-winning speech, but a lot of his selections don't usually stack up well against the competition. It would be a toss-up between DDR and Trials for best presentation, but DDR is the better game and series.
3 Points - Silent Hill 2
2 Points - Diablo II
1 Point - Dance Dance Revolution
I would love to see Don get a game in to see his award-winning speech, but a lot of his selections don't usually stack up well against the competition. It would be a toss-up between DDR and Trials for best presentation, but DDR is the better game and series.
One of my biggest flaws as a human is how much i let HOG bother me. My brain keeps telling me it's all for fun and it doesn't matter....but my god why didnt they pick MY FAVORITE GAME1?11!