A sort of backer FAQ (Patreon)

My Patreon page is long overdue an update. Many things are long overdue an update and I'll find the time to do that at some point. 2021 looks good right now...

I received a couple of questions from a new backer last night regarding the nature of how I interact with the team known either as Bad Company or Fail Brigade (your choice, pick your favourite) so I figured I'd throw a small FAQ up for you to muse over, if musing is a thing you like to do.

This is by no means exhaustive, but it should give you some idea of what to expect.

Q: How often do I play games with backers?

A: Depending on your gaming preference the answer is one of, constantly, occasionally, sometimes or never. Good, that's that cleared up. Well, okay, I'll break it down a little further.

Constantly: if you're in the Bad Company Electrosports league you'll find that I'm there all the time (that's what it takes to have the #1 offense and #2 defense, people). If you're part of the league you'll routinely find me up in your grill inviting you to partake in a MUST HAVE TRADE DEAL.

Occasionally: at the start of a new Bad Company survival series you'll find me on the server a lot. For the first couple of weeks I'll burn any spare time I have to rebuild my factory, again. Sadly, because "spare" time is something of a rarity, I can't keep up that level of play. If a bazillion people watch the associated videos I'll be around more but typically my play has dropped to negligible amounts within a month. 

Sometimes: I'll jump into or organise a Bad Company game once in a while. There was a good period where we had a fun GTA 5 session running, and we've had a few games of Stellaris (there's an itch I need to scratch) that have been a lot of fun.

Never: none of those appeal? I make zero guarantees to ever play a game with backers, only that I'll advertise when I'm playing something multiplayer that others can join. Now, you wouldn't be a backer if your taste was massively dissimilar to my own so there's a decent chance I'll be playing something at some point you quite fancy getting stuck into.

The only other caveat here is that I'll look for collaborators for small-team videos once in a while. These will almost always tend to be members of Colonel School, and I'll look for channels who I think might work well in a team environment.

Q: How often do I meet backers or viewers in the real world?

A: Once so far. The unofficial official Failcon 1 was held in Amsterdam earlier this year. It wasn't my idea, rather several Bad Company folk decided to meet up and do some tourism style behaviour. I was extended an invitation, and while I couldn't confirm until late in the day got to hang out with a dozen people who kinda liked my video nonsense. It was fun (despite the fact that I was absolutely shattered for the whole day - never fly at 4am).

Q: How often do I look for feedback from backers?

A: I get feedback all the time from multiple different angles. YouTube comments, social media, responses to posts here, Discord... Even if I were to attempt to impose some form of "rule" regarding how feedback is given it wouldn't work. "You're playing it wrong..." is the most common piece of feedback (paraphrased) that I receive. Good times.

If you've got a suggestion or comment to make, throw it my way via whatever means you like! I read *everything*, whether I then act on it or not depends on the nature of the feedback. Do I have time to do it? Will following the advice improve what I'm trying to do? Do I agree with the piece of feedback? These considerations and more are taken into account when receiving feedback.

Q: Why don't you play [INSERT GAME]?

A: Suggest it by all means. Bear in mind that the older the game, the less likely I'll play it. You might not have noticed, but my most successful videos come from newer games. I'm chasing growth on my channel since my aspiration, as you already know, is to do this kind of thing full time. More backers means I have greater flexibility to play what I think my viewers will like, but until I hit a point where the combination of all the various money bits add up correctly, I have to chase views and growth. I have established game genres I cover and will stick in my lane for the most part. Yes, you lot are less keen on my sports series... tough :) I like it.

Q: Why don't you play OpenTTD?

A: Tried it. Interface sucked. Graphics sucked. Hard pass.

Q: But OpenTTD though?

A: No.

Q: How about OpenTTD? 

A: Now then. Once in a while I'll receive comments on a video that make me wonder whether the aggro is worth the grind. Want to know why Soviet Republic is taking a break? Well, even one with a skin as thick as mine reaches a point where being called an idiot for the 50th time in a day takes its toll, so I cancelled the series. I don't need anyone to hold back on vitriol - although that really isn't the tone of the channel - I can handle it. But when it's every episode in a series, I just get a bit fed up with it. 

OpenTTD would make Soviet Republic's comments seem like a delightful picnic on a summer's day. Plus the interface and graphics suck. That's my final answer. This week.

Q: How do I get more involved?

A: Discord. You have the address. Come get stuck in. If you just want to chat, talk games, give feedback, get invited to play stuff... that's the hotline. I'm there almost all day, almost every day. 

Right, that'll do. I'll get back to work.

-CF