Battle Plan 12 November 2019 (Patreon)

As last week's schedule appears to have spontaneously combusted, leaving a crater that can be seen from space and a dust cloud that is threatening to block out the sun, all eyes turn, expectantly to the Colonel for it is he that will explain what went wrong.

"Well," said the Colonel, "yeah."

That appeared to be all he had to say on the matter. But the crowd were not appeased, not even slightly, for a Monday had passed without an episode of Transport Fever being released.

"We don't care!" Yelled the crowd, "Proper series or just you fiddling with stuff for 45 minutes. It doesn't matter! WE NEED THE TRAINS."

Narrative ends, facts begin.

Soooo...

I have not one but 2 episodes of Transport Fever recorded. I also have 2 episodes of Soviet Republic "in the can" as they say in Hollywood. But you can't have them. You can't have them because, like a true genius, I decided to hit the "yeah baby, let's go" button to update my editing software of choice (Premiere Pro) to the 2020 edition. My reasons for doing this, despite knowing it was an ill-advised move, is that the 2019 version was a crash-happy piece of junk. Just wretched. I foolishly assumed that the new version would be better. It's not. It's not better at all. In fact it won't allow me to import any footage at all. It crashes when I attempt to do so.

Perfect. A video editor that won't accept footage.

Now, I could have reinstalled last year's edition again. I could have rolled back further still, but instead I've opted to pick up a new piece of editing software (DaVinci Resolve 16) and learn how to use it. By all accounts not only is it far more stable than the Adobe kit, but it's much, much faster (a lot of the editing mistakes I make are in part due to not double-checking things because they take so bloody long to do).

So, I'm learning the new tool.

In addition, I've decided that the update to the 9th version of my default template (the "subscribe" pop-up, bombastic intro and outro templates, sound mix etc) is now overdue. I'd hoped to get it done by May this year but didn't have the time to get it complete. I've also been promising myself that I'll reorganise my audio library (I've got thousands of subtle sound effects I've intended to use to beef up my videos, but they're all over the place) and generally reorganising my workflow.

I also need a new Patreon trailer. The existing one is laughably ancient.

It seems to me that the time to do this is now. I have a window of opportunity before I get properly busy. 

Yes, that's right - lately I've been operating a "measure once, cut once" policy, so it's time to bulldoze everything.

What does this mean for you, dear viewer? 

It means I'll be in a no-new-videos mode for a few days, hopefully back by the weekend. As mentioned, I have stuff recorded, just not edited yet.

Here are the series you can expect between now and the end of the year:

• Transport Fever 2
• Planet Zoo
• Soviet Republic
• Surviving the Aftermath
• Super Mega Baseball
• Minecraft

For backers, you can also expect Prison Architect on an ongoing basis.

Aftermath may meet woodchipper soon, or I may decide to bludgeon my way forward with it. I haven't decided yet.

Now, if you really need a video from me to watch, here are my recommendations:

Surselva Line (Train Simulator) - comments so far are suggesting it's one of the best I've done. 

Founders Fortune - there's a playlist on my front page. It's light-hearted and fun, and I abuse little AI people. Win win!

Right, I shall return in due course. I'm going to have a rare old time in Windows Explorer. Mmmm, so exciting.

-CF