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Cup of Jones - February 18, 2019 (Patreon)

Published:
2019-02-18 17:56:46
Imported:
2026-06
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Content

We've changed days! Cup of Jones is now on Monday mornings. It makes sense in a lot of ways and people in comments/chat seem okay with the shift. Of course I'm going straight from this shoot to the studio to record an episode of Fiasconauts, but in the future I'll try to keep Mondays clear for all Cup related activities. I think we have an equal, if not greater, amount of personal questions this week. As far as business is concerned, the studio questions persist, but it's also time to focus on our anniversary and future in the studio.

Speaking of, Mysterious Monster Mash tickets are now on sale! We'll be posting this everywhere later today but I wanted to give Patrons, and Cup of Jones viewers, the first chance to buy them. We didn't sell out last year, and I'm not anticipating it this year, but you never know.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/easy-allies-mysterious-monster-mash-tickets-56785919213

- Brandon

Files

Previews only

Cup of Jones - February 18, 2019

Your weekly Cup of Jones!

Comments

Matthew Weinstein

Hey Jones, this is a bit of an unorthodox question, but it's something I've been wondering about for a bit. You guys have done charity events before, but I think you've mentioned that you prefer to decide on the charity yourselves. If a fan were to approach wanting to work on something charity based with you, would you consider it or is it a hard no? And, if it is a possibility, how would one get in touch to do that?

JessieBlu

So wish I could go but financial obligations keep me in Chicago this spring. I WILL be there for yr4 celebration, whatever that entails. Have fun and see you all on Twitch!

iconmaster

I just want to say the new logo starting to show up is beautiful and professional. The shade of magenta/red is a big improvement over the raw, unoriginal red of the first logo. You just need to carry the improved branding through to other outlets like the site and your social media accounts.

Profoundbadness

Hi Jones, related to the road map question from last time, I started thinking about the long-term future of EZA. Continual growth is definitely achievable, imo, However, one of the single best things about EZA is the community. Compared to much larger streamers and Patreon communities, it's so welcoming and engaged. Trying to chat, both with streamers and other viewers, becomes nigh on impossible. Do you ever think about the potential that long-term audience growth might eventually cause EZA to lose that community coziness that I (and many others I'm sure) love so much? Is it beyond the pale to imagine that finding and maintaining a profitable, yet consistently community engagement-focused brand/group might be a goal worth aiming for instead? Eternal growth is never sustainable, so is it worth aiming for? I don't want to assume you long-term goals, and sorry if you've answered about them before, but please tell us what your thoughts are if they're not just about growth, as well.

Jhakai Nembhard

(PS, name is pronounced Juh-Kai, for reference.) Hey, I've got two questions for you this week. 1) Have you considered having a switcher available on the desk so for podcasts and shows that do not have someone to switch cameras, the host can do so themselves? 2) Have you considered now that you're a given size, having traditional sponsors in addition to your Patreon sponsors or is that completely off limits due to being fan funded? Thanks, Jhakai.

Andrew Burt

Hey Jones after listening to the last Frame Trap and hearing you mention Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I wanted to hear your thoughts on it. That was my favorite movie for a long time until Blade Runner 2049 came out.

Brandon K Gann

Hey Mr. Jones! Now that the Anniversary is less than a month away, I was curious if it will follow the same format of each Ally doing something unique to them with announcements sprinkled throughout, or because this is a new theme of monsters as opposed to a "concert," if we can expect something different? Also, please neither confirm or deny: Because it's been some time since the last Game Sleuth and much, MUCH longer with the Retros, seeing an announcement regarding either is my biggest hope. As always, thanks a ton for always being willing to take my question each week, and I hope have a great rest of your day! Cheers!

Sekiro505

Hi!!! I remember a long time ago there used to be voting for games for the Tuesday streams. How are ways you guys would like to interact more " game wise " with the community. I know other allies allow some people to play with them when they stream

Kristen Rogers
>>19995136

I would consider Trust Gaming more of a traditional sponsorship for them, they're currently sponsoring the group streams, and were once in the past for a month too.

Rayluaza

Hey Jones, not sure if you can show them but I'd LOVE to see those rejected designs you talked about.

Olf Himself
>>19995571

This is just my guess but I assume they'll be doing Huber's game show live, at least for a large part of the concert.

zk

Anxiety, Depression, Human beings and the human element. These are things that are often lost in the world of the Internets where everyone takes ownership of what they see/consume (often to fill their own insecurities). Especially in the 'gaming' community. It is refreshing to see allies talk publicly and 'privately' (as private as a paid tier can be) about these important issues. Often time this is the best way to shine a light on items that are not understood by a broader interconnected community.

Jeffrey Tessar

Jones, I am very glad you settled on a day so I can get my steady once a week cup back.

Will Schmuck

Hey Jones, Ready for another studio suggestion that yall have probably already thought about and ruled out for numerous reasons? I thought you might be! Here is my suggestion: get those streaming room mics off the floor by mounting them to the ceiling. If i understand those mics correctly, they are very directional and need to be pointed towards the audio source. What if they were mounted on the ceiling pointing towards the couches just barely out of frame? I've seen other creator studio spaces do this (Critical Role is one example) and it seems to work out well in that it prevents anyone from hitting them, they are always pointing in the perfect spot, and gets cables off the floor. Again, I assume something like this was probably thought about and couldn't happen for reasons, but thought I'd throw it out there as I've seen several times where allies will either still bump one of the mics or have to re-position them. Thanks! Will Schmuck

Asbo Zappruder

Hi Jones, Thanks for indulging me in my desire for musical theatre talk. Here are three more shows I'm interested in your thoughts on: - 1776 - Man of La Mancha - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying

Dan Allen

Dear Jones, This is my first Cup of Jones question/comment/critique. I’m a big fan of the Cup itself and haven’t missed one in like a year and a half. Best thing you can buy for a dollar. Never have I ever felt the need to chime in. Until now, two weeks ago someone wrote a comment about how you’re dropping the anchor on Trailer Jones and effecting the overall scores by saying your score first. Suggesting a simultaneous reveal of scores and not sequential. You said you were unsure if you wanted to use nine pieces of paper each time. I paused and thought to myself “Don’t they have whiteboards.” Wasn’t that important, life went on. The next week a kindergarten teacher comments on the previous comment saying you should use whiteboards. You say you’ll probably just rotate who reveals first on the next trailer jones. Jones. I love Trailer Jones, but man do I not love it when you guys change your scores based on each other ESPECIALLY if you have already said a score. Then change it after. You’re gaming your own system Jones. The new way will still have a different person dropping said anchor. With all that being said, my question: What will it take to see those sweet whiteboards on Trailer Jones? What must we do to get a simultaneous reveal? All of the Love All of the Respect Dan Allen Detroit, MI

Daniel Rona

Hey Jones are you a fan of bubble tea?

redskyy

Hey Jones, I just recently became a patron of Easy Allies and have really enjoyed catching up with previous Cup of Jones and being there in chat for my first live episode! I love how both the Easy Allies Studios and The Garage have been shaping up and look forward to more to come! One of my favorite shows at Easy Allies was Don’s Design Lab transforming into a Design Challenge series that encompassed not only Super Mario Maker but also games like The Sims 3 and Far Cry 5. With titles such as Super Mario Maker 2 and Dreams coming soon, would you and the other allies consider bringing back the Design Challenge either as a reoccurring part of the group stream schedule or making it a dedicated show? Having Don back in the judge’s seat for some Super Mario Maker 2 challenges would be so much fun. I also look forward to seeing what you and the other allies can come up with using the wide array of tools available in Dreams and think it could be a great fit for the show's format. Love & Respect, redskyy

Jay Zifer

Hey Jones, This weekend I dug into TheDarkKnight's youtube channel to find some old GT playthroughs of Resident Evil games. I've only known the EA era, and it was really fun to see both how much and how little ya'll have changed. Felt a bit like seeing photos of friends back when they were in college. Is there anything in particular that you feel like you took for granted from those days? L&R, Jay PS. Big ups to TheDarkKnight for uploading all those old streams. The real MVP.

Kola Aina

Dear Jones Are you still feeling the studio hype?

Morgan Mohalla

Mr. Jones, Honestly, how are you doing and has anything inspired you recently? Love and Respect, Morgan mohalla

Nathan25

Thank you for the quick audio upload last week, its always much more fun to join in with cup as soon as possible! Bit of a silly comment and I meant to post this like 6 months ago but was honestly just too lazy, I felt like around 6 months ago Kyle started struggling with his Podcast Haaalftime announcements and you could really hear his voice straining. Has yourself, Kyle or any other ally picked up on this? Also if its no trouble to you, would you do us the pleasure of a Jones version of the Podcast Haaaalftime announcement! Love and respect.

Matthew Borg

Enjoyed the inside baseball discussion on pro strats

Jesse Nye

Hi Jones, what games are at the top of your backlog that you really want to finish in 2019?

GentleTroll

Hi Jones, First time writing question. Have you guys consider using Youtube premiere feature? You could set it up this way that people would know when to expect some new videos. I know that you guys have schedule on your website, but I can imagine that many people might not be aware of it or just not go there for that. Premiere feature allows you also to set up live chat for premiere streaming of video which could be another way to interact with community. I know that many of your shows have early access feature behind them and this may not work for those kind of videos, but review videos should work well with this feature. Sorry if this question already showed up before. Cheers! GentleTroll

Eric Grynberg

I think patreon deleted my comment... I'll hopefully edit this to rewrite what I asked...

Matt Brookbank

$2 patreon tier reward: polls -- post a topical poll a week, and feature the results on the stream or podcast. Example: How do you feel about Sony pulling out of E3? (A) Bummed out (B) Its good if they were just going to show the same games as last year (C) It has to be about PS5 and they'll be back next year (D) Everyone should be doing more frequent Nintendo direct type videos anyway. ... The reward tier could expand to have a friend code poll, stream poll, or just something you are curious about your community or want their opinion on. Polls are FUN!

Dingle Dee

Hi Jones, Two things this week. I look back on the intro stream to the studio and I remember feeling bad for those sitting in pull out chairs. I thought I would add my two cents. Unfortunately the foundation for the back row is already set but I can imagine a longer sofa at the back that filled the empty space would look good, and avoid the problem you believed with congestion on the right side you discussed in an earlier CoJ. I have also heard the dismay about the "comfy" vibes from the other patrons. My solution is a dumb one. Buy a light duvet for the back sofa that the allies can use when invading the stream space. That may just be me but I've always had a spare duvet for my couch just it gets cold, and it could be useful for when E3 comes along. Cheers!

Matt Brookbank
>>20006511

I agree, Don's design lab (MM2 edition) (or dreams edition) would be a great short run exclusive show!

Seth Parmer

Hello Jones! - What was the first concert you went to and did the artist/band sound good live? And did you ever hear of, or listen to, the band Coheed and Cambria? I only ask because they're my favorite band but also put on one of the best live shows I've ever been to! Full of energy, jolly people, and phenomenal music! I just basically wanted to ask you what concert you went to that absolutely blew you away, and maybe one that sort of left you disappointed? - Love and Respect!

Nephilitic

Hello again Jones! I wanted to provide some context for last week’s question (“hand feet or feet hands”). My friends and I play League Of Legends together frequently during week days. Between games while we queued the hand feet/feet hands ultimatum popped up and for some strange reason we found ourselves in a hilarious heated debate. I thought I would throw it over to you as it has now become somewhat of a personal meme between friends. You answered the question so nonchalantly it made us die of laughter (o´▽`o) Bravo Jones! ...ok but seriously...If you had hand feet (hands on your feet) you could continue to work and you’d still have the ability to walk (monkeys do it)...I think the only issue would be shoes...3 days of a fairly normal life...because hey, imagine eating with your feet for a day. o(〒﹏〒)o

FatherCashew

Hi Jones, Taking a break from business questions this week to lighten things up a bit… What makes Avatar: The Last Airbender so good? I too hold it in extremely high regard and would love your analysis on what specifically elevates the show above others. Ian has derived a life philosophy from the merits and juxtaposition of No Country for Old Men & Paddington 2 and I (personally) believe a similar argument could be made for Breaking Bad and Avatar: The Last Airbender. I feel Avatar’s brevity contribute to its impact of a beautiful story with believable characters in an imaginative world. Korra didn’t grab me the same way though, so I’m not sure what truly sets it apart. What are your thoughts?

JessieBlu
>>20005231

he does not... mentioned on an earlier episode. Likes the Tea ok but not the "bubbles" ... i'm the same!

Rammer

Hi Brandon – During your recent Apex Legends group stream, I was excited finally seeing a full team set up on different consoles. My only issue is that the audience was only able to see through one console’s monitor. There were several times where the other players were engaged in combat and the main monitor had no action happening. Would it be possible for Ian or someone with the technical knowledge to be able to add a live switcher on these streams? This can also help in curating other new content in the future besides just these group streams. I am not an expert on these types of things, but I’m hoping there can be an easy way to do so, now that you have enough room and tech available to you in your new studio. If you don’t have an immediate answer hopefully you can bring this up to the group and see if it’s possible given time constraints. L&R - Christian

JessieBlu

I think patreon ate my comment so sorry if this is a duplicate... Dear Jones, I am a relatively new listener to Cup of Jones (since Thanksgiving) and am thrilled to be a part of the Easy Allies getting their new studio and I have a quick question… How can you be so patient with the listeners who question you and your partners about their business decisions and the speed at which you improve the quality of the entertainment you provide? Why do they think YOU should be the one to answer for decisions made by other Allies on their programs? If it were me I’d shut them down… tell them “If you want to talk about Pro Strats Only, post something on the podcast link for Bosman to read, I’m not answering that.” You have no problem deciding not to answer questions about financial specifics, no one could fault you for saying “I’m not in that persons head, I don’t know why they shot that stream from far away.” I also feel the need to apologize for the other patrons who are so excited to see the studio changes that you feel like we are ungrateful. We are like the kids at Christmas with the stack of beautifully wrapped gifts and we just tear into them and after the final one say “so where’s the rest of them? We got the Millennium Falcon but no action figures. Where’s Han Solo and Chewbacca?” while you lie exhausted on the couch with your coffee because you were up til 4am wrapping the gifts you spent weeks shopping for because you wanted to get the best and biggest ones you could find. And of course Uncle Huber and Aunt Ian bought the Han Solo and Chewey figures but their surprise visit isn’t until later tonight and you don’t want to spoil it… We aren’t ungrateful, we are just so excited to see the changes and time for us goes so much more slowly between “Cups” than it does for you. While you see you “only have a week” we see “we have to wait a WHOLE WEEK?!?” I hope we can all be patient with each other and not “salty” because love and respect are values we all hold dear and we should all treat each other this way at all times. Thanks for everything you are doing, on and off the mic, to make our lives more enjoyable. L&R Jessie Blu

Kristen Rogers
>>20023374

One of them mentioned they had feed of all three screens but there would be a delay in switching them where we would only see a black screen, so at the time it wouldn't work well but I think it would be great for the future if they can get the tech setup so it's a seamless switch.

Kristen Rogers
>>20012432

They did this for Box Peek but I'm not sure if they liked it or not. I know I've seen comments on other channels not liking the feature because it wasn't clear if that the video wasn't live at first and they clicked play only to be given a time to come back, not sure if this has changed or not. I can see in issue with using this with reviews because of embargo, they wouldn't want the video showing early if they aren't allowed to even say the embargo date and usually when a video is finished it goes up right away. Notifications for new videos work really well on YT from what I've seen so far.

Jason Walstrom

Brandon, during the latest Frame Trap -- Huber talked about Far Cry New Dawn and you cheekily asked him if you ever get kidnapped in the game referring to Far Cry 5 in which you are kidnapped repeatedly and it made me think of this question. I'm going to be cryptic for a reason not to spoil anyone on Red Dead Redemption 2: Did a certain part of RDR2 when a certain character (**Arthur**) gets abducted only to wake up tied up and groggy and be taunted by a bad guy in a First Person view remind you of Far Cry 5 to the point where you said "Oh no!" out loud? Just wondering, I thought it was kind of a funny coincidence and find I found RDR2 to be a far superior game but after going from Far Cry 5 to Red Dead 2 it was kind of a "Oh please no!" moment lol. ALSO: Now that RDR2 has come out what new game are you really looking forward to?

Radioactive Magic

Hey Jones, Sorry if you have answered this question in some manner in the past, you can just brisk through this if so, I am just curious. You have mentioned in the past that if you could bring on another person then they would ideally be a community manager and one of the problems you face is that you would want to be paying them for their work (understandably). My question is who would you want to bring on beyond that for what kind of roles? Waving a magic wand, you have the perfect community manager (whether they are a content producer like all the others or not is up to you in this fantasy) and everyone is paid fine and well. NOW we wave the magic want again and you have one or two new people to help the team, what do they do? Produce content? Work invisibly behind the scenes? What ideas for extra workforce makes you happy? Or what have other allies expressed a desire for? L&R

Professor Metal Gear

So, when will shirts/merch be available with the new Easy Allies logo? Would love to rock a new shirt for the Monster Mash... THE MONSTER MASH!

havik

Simple question for you Jones, what was your favourite Fiasconauts you participated in?

Parasitepaladin

If there was an EZA fighting game, would the final character that would be unlocked be anybody other than Lightning?

Cyber6x

Hi Jones! I have a peculiar question. I was listening to a very old Destructoid podcast that mentioned a story about GameTrailers getting into complication with the ESRB regarding a Fallout 3 trailer. Would you be able to share the story behind this? If you're not able to, I'd understand!

Tim Bechen

Hey Brandon, haven't checked in for a while, but still watching every episode! It really makes me happy to see you that excited and happy! Couldn't be prouder to have helped you all build this. But to my question, have you seen Titans? Pretty cool DC show all in all, but I don't like the Dick Grayson reprensentation (He is so unlikeable) and how they represent Batman. But got a lot of potential in my eyes. So thrilled who they gonna cast for Bruce Wayne

Erunion
>>20001902

I showed 1776 to my son after he got sick and tired of Hamilton. He didn’t like it any better though.

Varun Kachhwaha

Hi Jones, I was wondering if there were any plans to create some short form, more scripted content on the channel? Looking at other channels it seems as if those type of videos are the ones that get the most views, and it makes sense as people don't watch podcasts or longer videos that much. Looking at videos like the Jimquisition, Brian David Gilbert's videos on Polygon, even some of Yongeyea's content, they are around the 15 minute mark in length and reach hundreds of thousands views consistently. I think that could be a growth area for the channel that can help Easy Allies grow massively, and might get a lot of people to contribute to the Patreon.

Sebastian
>>20025874

It‘s all about Love & Respect. Love that someone is asking for your opinion. Respect that person and give a proper answer. Simple :)

guavafunk

Follow up to the Ween question: First of all, thanks for the reply. I have too many Ween songs I love but some of my very favorites are The Argus, You Were the Fool and She Wanted to Leave. Ween has this thing going on where rare song demos and random concert tapes are cherished by fans as much as the official albums and pro shots. Considering that, the bidding to get your tape was probably one of many efforts that has helped to build this amazing catalogue of amateur/raw material of the band. Cool to know you experienced that first-hand. Kinda related question: What's been your favorite concert experience? Mine's a Faith No More concert I went back in 2015's Independence Day here in Costa Rica. L&R - ElYorch95

Dai Nguyen

Hi Jones, I do not normally post questions but I was wondering now that you guys have a studio, will you consider taking on an intern? I have a mandatory Co-op semester coming up, for my Illustration degree. If I was gonna work for free anyways, might as well help out the allies. There would be a wide variety of things I could do to help out including Graphic design and editing videos. Im aware this is a long shot but I had to ask. Thanks

Kate Bishop

Is there a game from the past that you wish you got to review?

killbotvii
>>20056361

Regardless of the answer you get, or any at all, I really admire your courage to ask a question like this in a public forum. I know I wouldn't be able to.

strawhatninja

Jones I know reactions are usually your most popular videos on YouTube and I dare say you guys are one of the best at it. Why do you think reactions work so well with Easy Allies? I think having so many different personalities and people who like different types of games gives each a viewer an ally with a similar taste as them

Alexander Zyryanov

Hello, Brandon. Last week I've finished Red Dead Redemption II. While I liked its story and gameplay, the most impressive things about this game are its technological achievements. This is the first game I’ve played where out-of-focus background remains out-of-focus near semi-transparent edges of character’s hair. I was stunned by short loading times considering how dense and diverse game’s world is. Rendering distance is equally impressive and I never saw objects or textures pop-in (to be fair there is one place where pop-in of high-resolution foliage shadows is noticeable). And the lighting looks like a Pixar movie. It’s safe to say that the industry will follow Rockstar and many of Red Dead Redemption II’s technologies will be widely used in other games in coming years. I case you share my appreciation of this game’s tech, what impressed you the most in Red Dead Redemption II? P.S. God of War may be 2018 GotY in 2018, but when we will look back ten years later, we will remember 2018 as a year of Red Dead Redemption II. So don’t be sad, your time will come.

MaxVSTheGames

Hi Jones, would it be possible to have a list of the consoles each allies have? I was planning on sending two of my favorite games your way, in the hope that you would eventually play them at some point, but I don't even know if any of you have a working PS1 console. Also, it would be much easier for you guys to download that game on the PS store (and it would cost less than buying and shipping the game). I'm not sure how we could do that though. What would be the best option here? Should I send you $20 with specific instruction on which game to buy on PS Store? Or should I buy it myself on PS Store and send you the code to download it with your own account? Which e-mail should I use in that case, to make sure you guys get the code? Thanks!

Happy Gaming

Howdy Brandon! I had a recommendation in regards to Trailer Jones. Since Let's All Go To The Trailers to Trailer Academy, these sorts of shows have always been some of my favorite, especially because it gives you the opportunity to set aside how excited you are for something or how good you feel something will be to look at the craft of the trailer. It's a mindset my girlfriend and I have even adopted as we watch the weekly trailers when we go through the Playstation Store. I had two thoughts last night I wanted to share as I was making my way through the final moments of Red Dead 2 (unrelated). There are typically three panelists on a Trailer Jones episode, but I feel like you're always the person who has the opportunity to pick the trailers. I felt it might be interesting to have everyone on the panel bring one trailer for everyone to talk about. This would give everyone a chance to be a little more prepared with one of the brought trailers, and might let them lead the conversation on it. This would also potentially give every person the chance to be the first person to score their prepared trailer, as you being the first person to score was brought up on a previous Cup of Jones. This way, everyone can score first, and everyone can bring something to the table that they think needs to be talked about in a positive or potentially negative light in terms of new trailers. New trailers is the second thing I wanted to bring up, because on Trailer Jones, and even going back to Trailer Score, the newest released trailers have always been in the spotlight. I felt it could be interesting to maybe look at and score older trailers as well, maybe not specifically shining a spotlight on trailers we know from their excellence (Bioshock, Deus Ex, etc), but to look at some that went under the radar that we've all never seen. This could be a good opportunity to talk about how the craft has evolved over the years, about what different trailers did well for their time that hasn't necessarily aged well, or what they did well that still shows quality today. This might be dwelling on Trailer Academy days and might not fit in with Trailer Jones, but I wanted to bring it to the table nonetheless because it could broaden the scope of Trailer Jones in general. Love and Respect Brian from Happy Gaming

Megan Linart

Hey Jones with the news that Dreams will be going into early access this spring, if you do get in are you guys going to be doing any Drams related streams at all? I think having a stream dedicated to Dreams could be fun and bringing the community into it could be a cool thing to see. Just wondering if you have expressed any interest in that?

Fabian Overdijkink

Hey Jones, recently two Pokemon Go Youtube Channels got taken down because the Youtube algorythm confused the abbreviation for Combat Power with Child Pornography. I was wondering if you have any measures in place for if this sort of thing would happen to EZA. What if Youtube decides the abbreviation EZA stands for something horribly inappropriate and some bot nukes the channel? Do you have any contact at YouTube/Twitch in case anything comes up? L&R

Mick Roper

Hey Jones, something struck me from the Valentine's day episode; maybe you could add a patreon tier to submit gaming vistas for the window. Submitters could get 1 submission a month, obviously to be vetted by y'all. I love the window with the vistas and this way patrons could contribute to the look of the show and hopefully save work from yourselves. Hopefully this was helpful! Have a good day!!

Olf Himself

Would you consider playing Uneasy Alliance again for a group stream? You've gotten a lot of new viewers since last time you played it and it would be cool to show it off again.

DaleBastion

Hi Jones, very excited that Mysterious Monsters is the basis for this year's anniversary show. What changes will be made to the format in relation to the test run?

Calvin Delaney

Personal comment Jones, i just finished Red Dead 2 after finally picking it up, Masterpiece is a word i throw around a lot only because i throw a lot of words around a lot but this game makes me want to stop doing that and reserve it for games that ARE MASTERPIECES such as this. I was bawling my eyes out through most of the ending of this game, i never wanted it to end and would give anything to go back to last week and start it again for the first time. The reason this relates to you is because my video game tastes have been shaped by you guys since i started watching you guys in 2014. I played Persona because of Ben and now am full on with JRPGs! tried some racing stuff because of Blood and i had no interest to play Red Dead 2 until i heard you gush about it for so long. Thanks Brandon you influenced me to play something i will never forget.

Andrew Left

Hey Jones, Personal question this week.. What are your thoughts on "Audible"? A couple months ago, i got a free trial of audible so i can listen to The Witcher books, but the narrator was so good, i decided to keep my subscription and i've had it ever since. I told my mom about audible, but she said she will never use it since it will never replace the physical feeling of holding a book and turning the page. Now i'm torn. Should I continue with Audible, or stay old-school and go back to physical? (i'm probably gonna stick with audible) But what are your thoughts on this?

Karel Nemecek

The comment about the fact that they NEED to change the logo. I don't know from what kind of industry or position the commentator comes, but working in manager marketing taught me that that this is the last thing that is important for EZA. Content (Value for viewers) and diversity of content is key, fair pricing model for patreons and getting big uploads (reviews of big games) out on youtube fast are the priorities.

Snowcone Guy

Hello Jones! Things are looking pretty good in terms of unlocking "Full Playthrough Fridays" on your Patreon. So I would like to know a few more details about that. In my head, I always imagined this as a second stream day, in addition to Tuesdays. Maybe not necessarily with as many Allies present as on Group Streams, but nonetheless, a Twitch stream on Fridays, where you go longer, and at least attempt to finish a certain title. Now I am a bit concerned, because I think that at some point, somebody said that it would be an edited down video recording. Only speaking for myself, I have to say that I would dislike that format very much. This works well for Fancy 15, as it was an episodic mini series, but seeing you play through a full game, and experiencing interesting or weird things, and not being able to comment and joke about it with chat, feels very locked out. In addition to this point, I would like to know more details about how games are selected/drafted, how long they can really be, and anything else that you either already know, or think about. Love & Respect, Snowcone Guy ---- (Not to tickle my own fancy, but with the occasion of this goal looking achieved, this might be a good topic for an editorial. After all, it's the next big project after the studio, the next milestone.)

Ian Gragnolati

Hi Jones! I think this is a personal question but it sort of bleeds the line. I'm curious what it is like working with people that you consider friends. Do you still consider the eight other allies friends, or are they more like coworkers at this point or some mixture of the two? Hope I'm not being too nosy, this is something I've always been interested in. L&R

MistahShowtime

Hello Jones! With the recent move into the studio, the Full Playthrough Fridays goal being so very close, and announcement of the Year 3 Mysterious Monster Mash celebration, I couldn't be more excited as an EZA fan! With that said, I do have a couple of questions that I hope you could answer provided there is any information you can currently share. First, are there any plans in the works to livestream the MMM event? I know this is a question you're asked every year, but for those of us who are unable to attend it's always a concern as we want to share in all the hype, jolly vibes, love and respect as those who are able to make the trip. Second, will there be any other familiar faces at the event? I feel that crossover events are a big deal and can bring in new allies. I know you've previously attended Kinda Funny Live and I would love to see members of KF, Funhaus, What's Good Games, IGN, Gamespot, GameInformer, or any other gaming media outlet attending to take part. To me, it would mean that EZA is truly part of the gaming media "family" and will provide hope for future crossover events with these outlets and exposure to bring in new allies and new patrons. Perhaps we could see other guests such as Luke Arnold or Cory Barlog. All of this may be a stretch, but I wanted to put the idea out there while preparations are being made in the hopes that it will bare fruit. I can't wait for the celebration next month and look forward to seeing how EZA will evolve in the future! Love & Respect, MistahShowtime

irene035

Hi Brandon :D I've been wanting to suggest this for 2 years, and now that it's 2019, finally is time: GOTD (Game of the Decade) at the end of the year alongside GOTY? Or, some other kind of 'decade-retrospective' video (something more in-depth than a podcast topic)? Other things coming to mind is a thing that a Swedish magazine did called "Top 50 things that defined the decade". (Don't have to be 50!) , or maybe a video game version of the #2009vs2019-hashtag, or a general look at how the industry have grown over the decade. Or just a silly video of ”Top 10 10’s of the 10’s” (The best 10 out of 10-games of the decade.)

Brian Denu

Morning Jones! As of Saturday, February 23rd, EZA is officially above $52k on Patreon! Congratulations! I'm so happy to see the community grow more and more each month. Assuming that the Patreon numbers hold through the end of this month, what's the plan of Full Playthrough Fridays? Do you have a list of games in mind, and will there be a full playthrough stream on March 1st? Are there going to be multiple Allies in attendance for these streams? Just curious if y'all have a plan in mind as I am very excited to see this goal achieved! Best, Brian Denu

Daniel Garza Andrade

Hello Mr. Jones, personal Question: Do you and the other allies go out on a satuday night just casual for a drink or something like that or after an stream?

Master Pantz

After Crackdown 3, Anthem, and Jump force, do you have any hope left for One Piece: World Seeker?

GmanSir

Who will review Yoshi's Crafted World?

Daniel Ribeiro

Hi, Brandon. I decided to write this after watching your Crackdown 3 review, I wanted to finish the game first to make my own opinion, hence why this is a little late. I actually agree with your and other outlets' scores, I gave the game a 6 out of 10 myself. What I disagree with is with some of the issues you brought up, while you failed to bring up other issues that are more important imho. Platforming and Combat are really fun in the game, specially Platforming. The controls are extremely precise to the point that when you fail, it's always on you, not the game. Just like a Super Mario or Super Meat Boy game's controls. This combination delivers a lot of fun, if you can enjoy it for what it is, like playing an older game, of which the core gameplay is still very fun, even though the game design and technical aspects are very dated. The Combat is great, at least on Legendary difficulty, having more difficult enemies really made me strategize and approach fights with a different mindset most of the time, even when you're at level 6 with all your abilities, you can die in 1-2 seconds if you're not careful, so you really need to use all of your abilities in an intelligent way in order to win. You said: "city is small, hollow and bland". I agree with the latter two, but in no way is the city small. What the city lacks in horizontal space, it more than triples it in vertical space, if you use this as a metric, it's 3-4 times the horizontal size. I searched and collected over 650 Agility Orbs and 150 Hidden Orbs, took me an entire day just to find the last 200 Orbs I collected, so believe me when I tell you it's really big. Hollow and bland, but big. You said: "his [Terry Crews' Jaxon character] hubris outbursts provide some of the only chuckle-worthy moments in the game". While humor is a very subjective thing, Terry Crews' lines were the least funny imho. I lost count of how many times Goodwin's, Echo's and a few of the bosses' lines actually made me laugh out loud. It was definitely unexpected, but very welcomed. While cutscenes with Jaxon were mostly jarring, specially the opening video, where I felt they put too much of Terry Crews antics in it and it broke the immersion really hard for me, since I wasn't seeing Jaxon, but rather Terry Crews at that moment. I love Terry Crews, but if he's representing a character in a fictional story, I wanna relate to the character, not the voice actor. You said: "There are a few recordings you can track down and listen to, but they rarely offer new details about the world". This is very wrong, I agree that most are just stupid chatter between the villains, though that also fleshes out their personalities - however little that amounts to, however there are plenty of recordings that explain and flesh out the lore in the world: like what Chimera is, where they discovered it, how it affects people, the ecosystem, etc. There's also one recording that hints at something very important, which prompts a vital conversation between Goodwin and Echo about the whole plot, and if there is a sequel, this will play a major role in it, but that conversation only happens when you reach the 18th, 19th or 20th one, so if you didn't do most of them, you wouldn't know that. I know they could have put it in the first few recordings, but this is a pay-off for those who did most of them. Many games do this as well, like Dark Souls, fleshing out the lore through side activities and/or objects. You said: "The issue is there's so much else going wrong here that even the minute to minute carnage loses its impact after a while." I can't say for other difficulties, but on Legendary, the chaos and carnage remained impactful throughout most of the game, since the fierceness of combat and risk of dying at a moment's notice were almost always present. It only lost impact - and a lot of it - when I started grinding to reach level 6 with Firearms, Explosives and Strength, which I had to constantly fight enemies at the highest alert level, wave after wave for hours. This may well be the result of different difficulties making for completely different experiences. Which raises the question of if a reviewer only plas a game on a single difficulty, how well can he understand the combat system if he's never pushed to his limits? While trying other difficulties is not necessary for a review, it would be great if reviewers could change difficulty at certain points in the game, or to play at other difficulties for at least 30-60 minutes, in order to know how far the game tests the player's skills and how far the combat system can go, and also inform viewers of how certain difficulty settings work. For example, advising viewers to play Ni no Kuni 2 on the penultimate or ultimate difficulty, since in all the others the game is really easy. Something of value to potential buyers. You said: "The objectives at each location get repetitive" I never found the game to be too repetitive, but I was almost always doing different activities in each area. Though this is true for any game, if you do the same activities until all of the same type are done, then do the same for another activity and so on, that will feel very repetitive for any game. I was pleasantly surprised that the game had many more different mission objectives than I imagined. You said: "Some of these map missions rewire the city to work in your favor. Releasing citizens from prison increases the chance you'll see them fighting alongside you later on, and capturing monorail stations will unlock traveling turrets that back you up. The city also evolves depending on the order you choose to eliminate bosses, removing their forces from subsequent encounters and increasing your chances of success. We noticed these perks as the campaign went on, but they feel more like set dressing rather than a feature that can really be taken advantage of." The citizens I released helped me more times than I can count, be it by making a hard mission much easier, or even by making me succeed where I would have failed. I also used the turrets and citizens at monorail stations and other places a lot while levelling up from rank 5 to rank 6. As for the bosses' enemy forces that get removed when you eliminate them, I will give a personal experience I went through: while I was trying to kill Katala Vargas (Chemical Operations' boss) with Alois Quist (Logistics' boss) still alive, there was a section in Varga's fortress where it was very hard to get through on Legendary - it's the one where there's auto-reviving laser orbs in the whole floor, I tried that many times until I gave up and decided to kill other bosses first. After I killed Alois Quist, that whole section became ten times easier, I finished it on the first try then. So these perks can and should be taken advantage of, as they significantly affect the difficulty of certain missions and areas in the game. You said: "This system encourages you to keep seeking and destroying, but gives you little freedom in how you level up your agent, and aside from firearms, the rest of the skills aren't really necessary." This is without a doubt the biggest issue I have with the review. I never felt constrained in the way I was levelling, I always was able to reach the next level - ranks 1-5 - by playing normally, Strength for example, I reached level 5.3 without using it much, though I was using Jaxon which gains 10% Strength XP. As for only Firearms being necessary... Jones, this gutted me so hard in the review I had to stop it to process the information. Without high enough Agility, you lose all the mobility and evasion skills necessary to keep you alive, but more importantly you lose speed to avoid projectiles and be able to quickly approach an enemy and retreat when your health is really low. Agility was extremely helpful in the most difficult fights. Also, when you do it right, it's pure fun and joy, while you look cool as hell and feels like a badass, just like when you get SSS rank in Devil May Cry games. Explosives is another skill that saved my hide more times than Firearms, because having an Area of Effect weapon that deals massive damage was absolutely essential when I was in really dire situations, when I was surrounded by 30-50 enemies. Explosive gadgets as well, saved me more than even using the best Firearm weapon in the game - the burning laser one. Strength raises your Health/Shields, while exploring the map, I found one of those 3 air missile bases at the west of the map and it was the first time I encountered an enemy with a Homing Missile weapon, at Strength rank 2, one shot of it stripped my whole shield and left me with almost no health. At Strength rank 5, I was able to withstand 4 of such missiles. In Legendary difficulty, even at Strength rank 5, you can die in 1-2 seconds without even knowing what the hell killed you, when elite enemies swarm you in the most difficult areas of the game. Without high Strength ability, you just don't stand a chance. Important things you didn't mention or could have elaborated further: bosses' fights were almost exactly the same design wise, the boss and infinite waves of progressively harder enemies coming at you. At Legendary difficulty, Ngata (Security boss) and the Niemand fights are almost unbeatable without luck. The game becomes extremely unfair at those points, which is why the Crackdown community created ways to cheese them into oblivion - I myself created one during Niemand's fight. I understand that playing at Normal difficulty, you wouldn't see the latter issue, but the former is very appparent in any difficulty. Another point is how the Driving skill is absolutely useless and the cars handle like absolute crap. Levelling it up provides no benefit to movement or combat. Something worthy of attention, since it's an entire core system of the game absolutely wasted. Sorry this was so long, I wanted to propose an analysis and counter of your Crackdown 3 review, which makes me want to understand how the whole review process works, at least from your perspective. Please feel free to summarize, remove or change any part of it in the interest of time. This also stirred up old feelings about issues I have with other EZA reviews, but I will save them for another time. This is already very long. L & R

Matt Izaguirre

Jones, I've got two quick questions: 1.) Have the allies ever considered a marquee at the bottom of the screen during videos that display the current topic being discussed as well as a quick at-a-glance of the week's streaming schedule? I think it would be good way to advertise the other EZA media that isn't necessarily on YouTube. Apologies if this topic has been brought up already. 2.) My wife and I are having our first child any day now and I plan on spending what little time I have to myself playing some games to help relax, destress and unwind. What games would you suggest for during nap and quiet time? Portable is preferred and pause button is a must. Love and Respect <3

Tony

Hello Brandon! Something I’ve been curious about for awhile, do you guys compensate any guests you bring on shows? Like Elyse on Easy Update, various fiasco guests, friend code guest etc. I hope you have a great week!

Gabriel Heilborn

Hello Jones, Hope my question made in. I’m going from Europe to LA for the Mysterious Monsters Mash. I hate LA, but is my girlfriend first time, any recommendations to what to show her? (No Disney stuff). Love and Respect, Gabriel

Luca Martini

Hi Jones, we have to see how the end of month dip affect it, but it seem that Full Play-through Friday will be funded, congratulations! My question is if you have already a plan for the "format", I imagine there will be some Allies more dedicated to it than other (Huber?) but have you already spoken about it? Who were more "open" to it and who will never do the "segment"? You will do it from the stream room or the idea is than it could be an additional stream from home from some of the allies, simply on Friday and for a game that could be completed in a short timeframe?

Kris Fredrick

No matter what day of the week the podcasts are recorded on, inevitably something will happen the very next day. This makes me wonder, why not give Friend Code a more loose schedule? Rather than have one every other week, just film and release an episode when there's news worthy of discussion. With less episodes feeling like filler, I think Friend Code could find a bigger audience as well. Obviously this is more of a Damiani question, but I figured I'd get your thoughts on it since we don't have Dish of Damiani.

Ibrahim Sozer

Jones, I sent a DB SNES games gift in the mail that you should have received. I just wanted to say it's the best JRPG I have ever played. What has a better chance of you watching a season, Gotham or Dragon Ball.

Neil K Bonsteel

Top of the mornin' to ya, Jones! With Mario Maker 2 on the horizon, were any Allies planning on a stream in which they play exclusively patron created levels? Just a thought! L&R