Getting Back into the Groove and Updating y'all

Hey everyone!

Around about two months ago, I sent a survey out for you guys to see what your thoughts were with regards to this Patreon, and what I could do with it going forwards. Thanks so much for all your responses - I really appreciate the comments and input from y'all. 

Based on the responses, I think it's pretty clear as to what direction I need to go here...pretty simple, really - I need to input a lot more here. That generally seemed to be one of the main themes, that everyone was very much up for that -- people seem pretty happy with the tiers and how they are right now, and I'm kinda happy with that too...there's also Discord which I'm slowly using a fair bit more these days, but mainly people want more stuff here. So, today I'm making a few plans going forward:

I intend to update you guys once a week on all that's happening, for a start. Just little posts here and there, nothing too major, chatting about what's going on, how projects are going, whether they're the minor ones that happen week on week or ones that are taking a bit more time, as well as others that...well, may happen or may not. And this definitely gives you more of an opportunity to get your own thoughts in, which is something I've always been grateful for. Honestly, so many of the best ideas I've had for vids, not just ones that have been successful but ones that have been really fun to do, have come from my community, and so I want plenty more of that! So yeah - weekly updates are definitely a thing going forward. 

Also, I'm going to start doing Patreon-only streams again! Streaming has been...um, difficult this year for various reasons (I really must stop getting myself in trouble) but I want at least one of these a month, probably on a Monday as I'm going to start doing a weekly main stream on the channel on Wednesdays or Thursdays. The Monday stream will pretty much be a casual chat/AMA type affair where we basically...just shoot the shit, pretty much. And obviously if you want to pop in on the Discord for those streams too, feel free :)

This covers the main two things people seemed to want more of -- engagement from me, and Patreon-exclusive content. There may well be other Patreon-exclusive things as well -- such things are never going to be regular as obviously most of what I do ends up going fully public, but as and when opportunity knocks to do something just for y'all, I'll do it.  I have also, as you may have noticed, finally started making the actual release of videos properly Patreon-exclusive so that Patrons can watch the videos without ads whenever they want and not just before the vid actually goes live.   

Generally, that's how things are going to look like from this point on -- there's going to be plenty more posts going forward. I was hoping to implement all of this considerably sooner, but various things have kinda been getting in my way -- having a busted leg, tooth problems, those bloody strikes on my channel...fortunately all of those things have gone now! It's been a tricky three months or so, which is kinda why a lot of the content lately has been...I don't know -- more stuff that I put out there knowing it's not controversial in any way, as a way of still going. Not that I don't enjoy doing those top 100's or the like and I know people really love them, but obviously there's more to the channel than that. Thankfully, I now feel more than ready, and back in the groove. 

So, here's a little bit of what you can expect video-wise, in the short term and slightly longer...

-On Monday (and Saturday) for Patrons, a simple little video covering some obscure and rather lousy computer ports! Kind of a straightforward one as I needed something fast before I head to Cambridge this weekend, but I had a lot of fun dredging out some micro ports that aren't necessarily well known. Such vids are always welcome.

-A documentary on System-3: This video about one of the UK's longest lasting independent studios is coming along nicely! The script is progressing, capture's good...we should be there soon enough. When I get back from Cambridge on Monday, I'll be ready to really put the burners on this as frankly, I'm hoping to get it out on the next Monday...so fingers crossed I can get that done! You can thank the awesome Iain Roberts for getting on the top tier, and finally bringing this one to the boil. 

-The best games of the Amstrad CPC: This should be a fun little Christmas one...I've really enjoyed watching Amstrad-related content lately (you may have seen me on Xyphoe and Novabug's streams!) and it's really made me want to get into the system's best games...unfortunately, Amstrad is kind of a black hole for me in terms of knowledge. So this "best of" video has a twist - I've asked five big Amstrad fans to help me by choosing three games for me to play! We've got Novabug, Xyphoe, Yellow Belly, DJ Slope and Top Hat Gaming Man involved, and they've put in some great picks - everything from childhood favourites to awesome modern CPC games. This should be coming out  December 16th.

There'll probably be some other thing on December 23rd but I'm not sure what yet. And here's two for the future...

-The Amiga/Atari ST Demoscene: I've been talking about this for a while, and I'm finally going to turn the burners on it in the new year. I've started getting into contact with people who are going to provide some very awesome stuff on it, I want to do some interviews...I want this to be quite a major work indeed. Look for it in 2020 :)

-The Forgotten story of John Miller-Kirkpatrick: On a drunken night in Blackpool with the Spectrum NEXT team, I was made aware of this person's story...a man who could have easily been as famous a name as Clive Sinclair or Christopher Curry, if it wasn't for the hand of fate. I've been trying to find bits ever since...I'm trying to see if there's any working examples of his main line of products, the SCRUMPI, that are still out there for a demonstration - that's the key to this video, methinks. But it's a project always in the mind.

...Phew! Anyway, hopefully you've enjoyed this little update. I'll keep you posted on all of these projects, and plenty more, every week. There's more stuff out there too, including things not necessarily related to YouTube...but this is a long post already and I don't wanna spunk EVERYTHING on this first update. Anyhoo, have a good Friday, enjoy your weekend, and have a good one!

-Kim