With the turn order in a two player game going 1 > 2 > 2 > 1, it amused me that this sets a kind of Austrian waltz rhythm to the turns: ABB, AAB, BAA, BBA...
I know this is almost a year later, but I just wanted to respond at the part where you mentioned how much down time you could have at 4 players. You are absolutely right. This game probably should not be played with 4 players. I just bought the game last night, but I have played this game about 5 times now, 1 game with two players, and 2 games with three and four players. Two is amazing, three is great, but four is a complete drag.
Looks like I'm the only one who thinks the audio needs a little work, likely just an equalization adjustment. To me, compared to your other runthroughs, the audio sounds less "warm". There's a noticeable hiss on the high end (always called this sibilance), the mids and low ends aren't quite as strong as before resulting in a "drier" sound. I think it's also a little loud and gets over modulated at points.
Note that I'm listening mainly on my headphones which are pretty good at picking up stuff that's subtle on other speakers. It was less noticeable on my tv, and my computer speakers barely had any of the stuff I mentioned.
+Dave Sarley the problem is that the new wireless mic i'm using disables all the audio controls on the camera for some reason. very frustrating because I *much* prefer wireless, as i'm constantly tripping over the cable and in danger of smashing my camera to the ground when i get up from the table...
+rahdo I can totally understand that. Being tethered to the camera is never fun. One wrong move and the mic (or worse, camera) can go flying. It also makes it much easier for those on the go videos like at the cons, or games like Catacombs. It's weird that the audio controls get disabled on this mic, but (I assume) not the wired one. Are you plugging it into a different jack? Can you tell me what camera and wireless mic you're using? I'd be happy to look at the manuals for both and see if I see anything that stands out. Worse case, you could look at getting a little mixer with EQ controls and such, but that's not going to help much when you're mobile, although I guess you'd probably go back to the wired mic at cons unless your wireless receiver is battery powered too. Nice thing about a mixer is it would allow you to use both mics when Jen is on (unless the camera already supports that).
+Dave Sarley it's a sony pj650 camera and the wireless ECMW1M mic. i bought it because it seemed to get a lot of good reviews and the sound quality int he youtube videos i watched seem okay. it doesn't plus into a mic jack, but instead into the "shoe" (i think it's called) at the top of the camera. i didn't want to go for a mixer because i'm trying to keep things as simple as possible, and also don't want to have to get into a situation where i'm editing video
+rahdo Thanks for the info. I'd never heard of a wireless receiver that interfaced via the camera shoe, so I learned something today. Unfortunately after looking around, I didn't really see much that might help. The shoe interface apparently takes over the internal audio (which would include the mic jack on the side), so that probably explains why the audio controls are disabled. The mode switch on the receiver might let you record both the mic and the camera audio (and possibly re-enabling the audio controls), but that's not something you'd want. I did take a moment to look at a UA-cam review of the ECM W1M and it has a lot of the same issues in the sound samples, so it's probably just the nature of the mic, or possibly the way the signal is transmitted. The only things I might suggest are: 1) Try using the windscreen/pop filter if the mic came with it. This may help with some of the high frequency/sibilance issue, but given the positioning of it on your shirt probably not. 2) Someone mentioned putting the mic *under* their shirt helped a lot, but I've got to imagine that would cause a lot of other incidental sounds. 3) On the off chance that there's an auto audio gain setting of the camera that isn't in the disabled menus, you might try fiddling with that.
Rahdo thanks for your continuing efforts and entertaining videos; that said the sound is a tad harsh and raspy - only telling you because you asked :) Thanks again!
I DEFINITELY like the Static Cam setup much better than from the side! It's easier to see the entire setup as you're playing (and if you're conscious about it then we could also see cards/tokens that you usually pick up to show on the regular cam) The sound is great! Can you tell me what mic & cameras you use?? I'm looking at doing some vids and would like to know a good setup
+Kevin Maxwell i'm using a sony pj650 in my dynamic cam videos, and a panasonic tm90 in the static ones. static are filmed with the onboard mic, dynamic vids normally use a no-name lapel mic i bought of ebay
Got the game for Christmas. And just got a chance to put it to the table this weekend. This is a great game, like you said Richard it plays so smooth. I been looking for more dice drafting games, but only found a few. You shold do a top 5 for dice drafting game list.
Yeah, I thought there should be a penalty for leaving guests waiting too. The passing and Reroll strikes me as an easy out/design issue. Art in general is cute.
+rahdo It's basically a very simple volume control (that can only reduce volume because it's not powered). You might be able to use one designed for headphones like www.amazon.com/Koss-155954-VC20-Volume-Control/dp/B00001P4XH/, but I'm not entirely sure it will work with a microphone.
First the audio sounds great. Second my copy came last week but I had the chance to play this four player at BGG Con. So I will say I love the game but you totally nailed the flow of the game. We did have an AP player who probably added 45 minutes to the game play - it was painful. Waiting for your turn was the worst part. But again the game itself is rock solid like you said.
I like the game (my wife is still on the fence - mostly the Emperor track annoys her) but it's unplayable out the box for red/green colourblind people like me. My copy had to be heavily modified. I'm really annoyed this still happens in 2015 for the love of all things. The most common sight disability. Also; no red player pieces, for shame!
Sound quality needs a little tweaking, Rahdo. The gain is a too high and your S's come through as static, and in general has a lower quality. Otherwise great as always.
Quick question Rahdo, how do you compare this one to Voyages of Marco Polo? And which one do you guys prefer? Thanks! PS: When is your top of 2015 (Early edition) coming?
I know this is way late but so far the only complaint I have(it's a big one to me) is how flimsy the cards are. Like really bad. I wish they were a bit thicker and a linen finish would have been excellent.
+Sirgud Aztarun apparently the designers have put out an official variant to have an alternate player order that takes care of this. you can find it on boardgamegeek i think...
I am no audio expert. I can't say whats wrong, but it seems the mic is much more sensible. Your breathing (inhale) is much more pronounced, and it actually bothered me so much that I couldn't concentrate on what you were saying.
+Philip Christiansen yeah, i basically have no control over the recording volume of this mic. though basically if you turn down the volume as you're listening, it accomplishes basically the same thing...
With the turn order in a two player game going 1 > 2 > 2 > 1, it amused me that this sets a kind of Austrian waltz rhythm to the turns: ABB, AAB, BAA, BBA...
I know this is almost a year later, but I just wanted to respond at the part where you mentioned how much down time you could have at 4 players. You are absolutely right. This game probably should not be played with 4 players. I just bought the game last night, but I have played this game about 5 times now, 1 game with two players, and 2 games with three and four players. Two is amazing, three is great, but four is a complete drag.
Our 4 player game lasted 2.5 hours. My average turn was probably 1-3 minutes, because I planned my turn before it was my turn.
The audio is great! Nice runthrough, have been looking for this one for a while!
The audio sounds great, Richard. Thanks for the video!
Looks like I'm the only one who thinks the audio needs a little work, likely just an equalization adjustment. To me, compared to your other runthroughs, the audio sounds less "warm". There's a noticeable hiss on the high end (always called this sibilance), the mids and low ends aren't quite as strong as before resulting in a "drier" sound. I think it's also a little loud and gets over modulated at points.
Note that I'm listening mainly on my headphones which are pretty good at picking up stuff that's subtle on other speakers. It was less noticeable on my tv, and my computer speakers barely had any of the stuff I mentioned.
+Dave Sarley the problem is that the new wireless mic i'm using disables all the audio controls on the camera for some reason. very frustrating because I *much* prefer wireless, as i'm constantly tripping over the cable and in danger of smashing my camera to the ground when i get up from the table...
+rahdo I can totally understand that. Being tethered to the camera is never fun. One wrong move and the mic (or worse, camera) can go flying. It also makes it much easier for those on the go videos like at the cons, or games like Catacombs.
It's weird that the audio controls get disabled on this mic, but (I assume) not the wired one. Are you plugging it into a different jack? Can you tell me what camera and wireless mic you're using? I'd be happy to look at the manuals for both and see if I see anything that stands out. Worse case, you could look at getting a little mixer with EQ controls and such, but that's not going to help much when you're mobile, although I guess you'd probably go back to the wired mic at cons unless your wireless receiver is battery powered too. Nice thing about a mixer is it would allow you to use both mics when Jen is on (unless the camera already supports that).
+Dave Sarley it's a sony pj650 camera and the wireless ECMW1M mic. i bought it because it seemed to get a lot of good reviews and the sound quality int he youtube videos i watched seem okay. it doesn't plus into a mic jack, but instead into the "shoe" (i think it's called) at the top of the camera. i didn't want to go for a mixer because i'm trying to keep things as simple as possible, and also don't want to have to get into a situation where i'm editing video
+rahdo Thanks for the info. I'd never heard of a wireless receiver that interfaced via the camera shoe, so I learned something today. Unfortunately after looking around, I didn't really see much that might help. The shoe interface apparently takes over the internal audio (which would include the mic jack on the side), so that probably explains why the audio controls are disabled. The mode switch on the receiver might let you record both the mic and the camera audio (and possibly re-enabling the audio controls), but that's not something you'd want.
I did take a moment to look at a UA-cam review of the ECM W1M and it has a lot of the same issues in the sound samples, so it's probably just the nature of the mic, or possibly the way the signal is transmitted. The only things I might suggest are:
1) Try using the windscreen/pop filter if the mic came with it. This may help with some of the high frequency/sibilance issue, but given the positioning of it on your shirt probably not.
2) Someone mentioned putting the mic *under* their shirt helped a lot, but I've got to imagine that would cause a lot of other incidental sounds.
3) On the off chance that there's an auto audio gain setting of the camera that isn't in the disabled menus, you might try fiddling with that.
Dude, mic sounds great. This is my favorite game of the year so far. Glad you guys enjoyed it!!!
Static Cam & Mic are great. Thank you Richard for your videos. They are excellent!
sound quality in the final thoughts was much better than the run through.
Rahdo thanks for your continuing efforts and entertaining videos; that said the sound is a tad harsh and raspy - only telling you because you asked :) Thanks again!
I DEFINITELY like the Static Cam setup much better than from the side! It's easier to see the entire setup as you're playing (and if you're conscious about it then we could also see cards/tokens that you usually pick up to show on the regular cam)
The sound is great!
Can you tell me what mic & cameras you use?? I'm looking at doing some vids and would like to know a good setup
+Kevin Maxwell i'm using a sony pj650 in my dynamic cam videos, and a panasonic tm90 in the static ones. static are filmed with the onboard mic, dynamic vids normally use a no-name lapel mic i bought of ebay
+rahdo As always, mucho awesome thanks (for camera/mic info AND for excellent game reviews)! !
Sound was excellent mate
Awsome game. It should be in your top 10 of the year!
Got the game for Christmas. And just got a chance to put it to the table this weekend. This is a great game, like you said Richard it plays so smooth.
I been looking for more dice drafting games, but only found a few. You shold do a top 5 for dice drafting game list.
Yeah, I thought there should be a penalty for leaving guests waiting too. The passing and Reroll strikes me as an easy out/design issue. Art in general is cute.
Simone Luciani is also author of The Voyages of Marco Polo, Tzolkin: The Mayan Calendar and
Council of Four ;)
Hey Richard, which kind of microphone are you using?
in this video, i was using a sony ecm-w1m, and was very disappointed with the results. normally i use the mics listed here: faq.rahdo.com :)
Sound is better, but still saturates. Maybe you can find a cheap passive attenuator to put in line between the microphone and the transmitter.
+Jérôme Vuarand i will look into that, as i have no idea what a passive attenuator is! thanks for the suggestion! :)
+rahdo It's basically a very simple volume control (that can only reduce volume because it's not powered). You might be able to use one designed for headphones like www.amazon.com/Koss-155954-VC20-Volume-Control/dp/B00001P4XH/, but I'm not entirely sure it will work with a microphone.
Sounds fine
This is a brilliant game.
First the audio sounds great. Second my copy came last week but I had the chance to play this four player at BGG Con. So I will say I love the game but you totally nailed the flow of the game. We did have an AP player who probably added 45 minutes to the game play - it was painful. Waiting for your turn was the worst part. But again the game itself is rock solid like you said.
I like the game (my wife is still on the fence - mostly the Emperor track annoys her) but it's unplayable out the box for red/green colourblind people like me. My copy had to be heavily modified. I'm really annoyed this still happens in 2015 for the love of all things. The most common sight disability. Also; no red player pieces, for shame!
+Marcus Boyce perhaps red player pieces are in the box, you just can't tell...?
Yep audio is perfect. :)
Sound quality is good
Great sound quality ! (A tinge too loud, though..)
Sound quality needs a little tweaking, Rahdo. The gain is a too high and your S's come through as static, and in general has a lower quality. Otherwise great as always.
Quick question Rahdo, how do you compare this one to Voyages of Marco Polo? And which one do you guys prefer? Thanks! PS: When is your top of 2015 (Early edition) coming?
+imthewhiterabbit you can see how i rate all my games (including both of those) at games.rahdo.com. also, 2015 top10 should be xmas day :)
+rahdo now that is what I enjoy seeing!
I know this is way late but so far the only complaint I have(it's a big one to me) is how flimsy the cards are. Like really bad. I wish they were a bit thicker and a linen finish would have been excellent.
The sound sounds sound, to me ;)
In a four player count the 1st player has a big down time, unfortunately
+Sirgud Aztarun apparently the designers have put out an official variant to have an alternate player order that takes care of this. you can find it on boardgamegeek i think...
I am no audio expert. I can't say whats wrong, but it seems the mic is much more sensible. Your breathing (inhale) is much more pronounced, and it actually bothered me so much that I couldn't concentrate on what you were saying.
+Philip Christiansen yeah, i basically have no control over the recording volume of this mic. though basically if you turn down the volume as you're listening, it accomplishes basically the same thing...
Everything sounds great! The game seems fun, but I'm kind of put off by the punishing emperor track. Hmm....