Cup of Jones - May 6, 2019

Skip question if you don't like it.

Master Pantz

(Allied a little with Alex Castellanos's question) I am really enjoying these multi person streams on the streaming stage! With a new multi room set-up (and equipment) being readied for E3, have you discussed novel ways in which to make more people -- in close-up -- seen simultaneously for groups streams in future? Giant Bomb would be one such inspiration. You might not currently have enough cameras on the streaming stage but it could be worthwhile testing the waters, using the right hand side graphic/space to show close ups of some of the game playing Allies, or their in game feeds, rather than showing delightful animations and notifications exclusively. Also, can we get salad mic on permanently when Damiani is at the PC? I can completely understand he forgets to turn it on, but it's better we hear Damiani first time rather than him being requested to repeat what was just said. L&R

Alpesh Varsani

Let's say that these 5 celebrities are doing guest spots on Twitch Group Stream Channels and their organizer wants to know the order of desire you have for them as guests. The celebrities are: Judge Judy Lindsay Lohan Gwyneth Paltrow Clint Eastwood Rob Schneider How would you rank them as Group Stream guests?

Master Pantz

I think for shows with concepts that aren't as clear, including clips makes a lot of sense, but to me, Spoiler Mode is pretty self-explanatory. A clip or two may help, but people will generally know whether they want that discussion. Plus, I think there may be a chance that people wouldn't expect spoilers in the promo, so picking clips could be a little tricky as well. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

Regarding the first part of the question, yes, we knew it was coming. They first reached out to us last year asking permission, but we had no idea how much would end up being featured. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

I was recently watching the God of War behind the scenes documentary, “Raising Kratos”, on Sony’s YouTube page and I was delighted to see EZA featured during the reactions to the E3 2016 reveal. Did you know EZA would be in the documentary beforehand? Have you seen the documentary? What do you think something like this does for general EZA awareness?

Micah Hendrick

Hey Jones, how many hours do you guys work a week? Also, I read this about the US just recently: "There is no federal or state statutory minimum paid vacation or paid public holidays. " Firstly, that's terrible. Secondly, how much (paid?) vacation does each of you get? In a lot of European countries we get 5 weeks of paid vacation plus a lot of paid public holidays. I was just wondering how you handle this stuff. L&R

darkPikachu

Hey Jones! If you have time, please try out the mobile game The Battle Cats. It is a very simple tower defense game. It has a good progression that lasts for a very decent amount of time before you hit "the F2P wall". Even then it still has bonus stages that can keep you busy!

Parasitepaladin

Hey Jones, I have a suggestion about spoiler modes. It's great that you have small promos for episodes, which can be enticing to users. However, in these promos, you just sort of discuss how you're going to be discussing a thing. If an audience member is watching but isn't a patron, or isn't a regular fan, they may be wondering what's compelling them to pay a dollar to hear you talk about Avengers or something. My suggestion is including 2-3 minutes of your actual discussion in the promo, showing the user what they'd be getting if they paid. Using your incredible editing skills, I'm sure you can leave them wanting for more, enticing them to become a patron. Then of course, you can end your video with "If you'd like to hear the full discussion, head to patreon.com yada yada". I've seen this tactic used well on channels such as CollegeHumor, and think you all could employ effectively as well. Hopefully the move to debut the next Patron-exclusive series on YouTube would make the transition less painful. A minor afterthought - the Spoiler Mode intro could use a little revamp. I hate to say it (or ever criticize you guys, you're all wonderful), but it feels a little cheap and odd. Keep up the good work, and thanks as always.

I was gonna ask the same question

Stan

Save

Varun Kachhwaha

Hey Jones How does it feel to be sponsored by a huge brand like Uniqlo? Are they the biggest brand so far? Any word on how this happened? They have some sweet shirts that I’ll pull the trigger on just because they sponsored you guys!

Kola Aina

Three questions. First one is a quick one. What's the best way to ask a question more privately? I sent a message on Patreon almost a month ago and never got a response. Second one, a bit more complicated. What would it take for someone to be fired from EZA and how would that even happen. If for example, Kyle thought Brad wasn't pulling his weight or Damiani thought Huber was doing the bare minimum to get free snacks on group stream nights, they couldn't just bring those issues up to the rest of the group without making things awkward or causing some animosity between some of the allies. Third, and this is inspired by the Easy Updates about Joy and Fear, what are the chances you would hire someone like me or another member of the community as an editor. I know hiring an editor is further down the road, but I would quit my current job, sell my house and move to LA in a heartbeat. So when you get to a place where you can hire someone just for editing, will it likely be someone you already know and have worked with or is it too far out to even think about the specifics at this point?

Kris Fredrick

Hi Brandon, Congratulations on the baby. Fingers crossed all goes smoothly. If I may offer a small piece of advice, when the baby arrives take ALL the time you need and don’t worry about work. When my first son was born I was weeks away from handing in my PhD thesis and preparing for its defence, so I wasn’t able to really enjoy those first few weeks. When my second son was born a few months ago, I stopped all work and disabled my work email address for the entire of my paternity leave. It made for a much more enjoyable time and better early days bonding. One quick question, did you hearing the sound of the heart beat during the ultrasound make you think of Cylons or KITT? L&R Kearn

Kearn Grisdale

Hey Jones, My partner and I are moving in together! We just got word from the unit we've been pushing for and are approved to move in at the end of the month. Any advice for living with a significant other? We've been together for a few years but I've also gotten used to living alone since my last roommate was back in 2014.

Hey there, Jones, You mentioned on a recent EZA podcast that you (and I’m paraphrasing here) wish Rockstar would go for an insanely massive map for their next open world game, as opposed to only a slightly bigger map due to an obligation of improving the graphics/resolution. I was happy to hear you mention that, because I had always wondered how big they could make their maps if they chose not to upgrade the graphics at all. For instance, how big could GTA IV have been if it was using the graphics engine of GTA San Andreas. How massive can they make GTA VI if they just reuse the same assets of GTA V? My question for you is: Would you prefer GTA VI or Red Dead 4 to have last-gen graphics for the sake of a ridiculously large map?

aguynamedjosh

Business Question Hello Senor Jones: What is the best way to rep Easy Allies at events that the Patreon members attend? We're going to Phoenix Fan Fusion and we would love to spread the word, but as with many things, it's difficult to even get people to watch sixty seconds let alone an hour long show. Love and Respect From Phoenix Friends

Rattslinger

I asked him a couple of episodes ago if you're interested. I got an out on Sekiro from Mr. Jones.

Rattslinger

Safety reply.

Alec Church

Hi Jones, A few weeks back an ally commented on your pronunciation of Game of Thrones names, but did not provide examples. I thought I'd find some for you! Though sometimes you shift between the show pronunciation and your own. I'm wondering if maybe the audiobooks you listened to went a different route on some of these? In no particular order, here are the names with your pronunciation followed by the correct pronunciation, at least according to the show. Daenerys. Jones: duh-NAIR-ees. Show: duh-NAIR-iss. Varys. Jones: Vair-REES. Show: VAIR-is. Ygritte. Jones: ee-GRETT. Show: EEEE-grit. Brienne. Jones: bry-EEN. Show: bree-EN. Cersei. Jones: SEER-see. Show: SUR-see. Drogon. Jones: DRO-gun. Show: DRO-GON. Dothraki. Jones: duh-THRA-kee. Show: doh-THRA-kee And that's all I noticed currently, maybe there are more!

Alec Church

Every episode of Paw Patrol has me invested by the end.

Alec Church

Hey Jones, Just some constructive criticism I have after watching the latest episode of Trailer Jones, but no real question so feel free to skip it for the video. I've noticed this in other episodes, but more so in the latest one, but I felt like you tended to talk over and interrupt both Amanda and Blood at various points, and it felt like you talked far more than the other 2 did. I figure it's because you're just so excited talking about and deconstructing trailers (as you should be), but with guests, it's always good to hear from them just as much. Just some food for thought. L&R

Logan Tawse

Hello Jones, I wanted to ask if you think there is any appetite for splitting group stream nights across two or three games on a more regular basis. I worry that group stream nights can feel quite hit-or-miss with the audience dependant on the game selected, and obviously, the quality of that game isn't in the Allies control at all (or maybe the game just doesn't stream well). My thought is if you were to have group stream nights regularly jump between two or three games (in a vein to how Giant Bomb goes Unprofessional Fridays), then group streams feel like a slightly more consistent affair, with people not instantly tuning out just because they don't care about the one game that stream is focused on. 2 hours of World War Z is a lot less palatable to a wider audience than 40 minutes of World War Z, followed by 40 minutes of something else, and 40 minutes of something else-er. Keep up the good work, love what the Allies are serving up. L&R Papa Jones, Alex McMillan

Alex McMillan

Hi Brandon. I’m wondering why Easy Allies approach leaks and spoilers so differently. On the recent Community Showcase there was a submission about Barry, but Kyle forbade you to read it at all, even with spoiler warning. At the same time the very same Kyle recently spoiled the setting of the next Assassin’s Creed game on the Easy Allies podcast without any prior warnings (it was even spoiled in video description). You may say that leaks are less significant than spoilers, but it’s not always the case, and every E3 you say: “This game announcement would be much better if it wasn’t leaked”. You may say that the leak was a common knowledge when you’ve reported on them, but the same can be said about spoilers: once something is out, it’s all over the internet. And for some people (me included) Easy Allies is the only source of gaming news. Why it’s OK to reveal some details about a game that no one has played yet, but it’s bad to do the same for a game that many have already tried out? Shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Alexander Zyryanov

Heya Jones! Don't Skips. I know you get asked about them a lot, but I've been meaning to say this for months and always forget. You say that you love the idea of them want to do them but you can't think of any games to do one about, since games you like you just review. Well, I've got your answer: Ghost Recon: Wildlands. You've repeatedly expressed regret about not having reviewed it, and also expressed a love or appreciation of the game, so this is the perfect Don't Skip for you. Just my opinion, of course, but...it's correct, =D. L&R!

Joseph La Russa

Because of twitch partner and affiliate guidelines it's usually a minimum of 24 hours after the stream before it goes up on youtube.

Kristen Rogers

Hi Jones, Sorry if it was asked already, I watched the business and baby part last week and didn't hear this question. When you take your month off for the baby, what is the plan for the reviews voice overs? Will you have each reviewer doing their own voice overs?

MaxVSTheGames

Personal Question: Brandon, it was fun hearing you talk about your love of The Last Starfighter on the previous CoJ. I too have always had an affection for not just the film but for the entire concept of the film. Imagine being so good at a video game that you are recruited by some far off Galaxy in need of your awesome gaming skills? For years I have owned a copy of the Film's novelization which I purchased when I was very young. After hearing you talk about the Film I decided to crack the book open and start reading and let's just say I've gone down a Last Starfighter Rabbit Hole this past week and I discovered something Amazing! Did you know and this is right up your Alley -- there exists a Last Starfighter Musical? Here's the Wiki entry all about it <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter_(musical)" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Starfighter_(musical)</a> and you can also find the entire cast recorded soundtrack on Youtube if you are curious (I sure was!) check it out because it's just for the lack of a better term -- Downright Jolly!!! My favorite number by far is titled 'Zandozan!' <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UZ7HB3vdg" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7UZ7HB3vdg</a>

Jason Walstrom

Hello Jones! I love Hall of Greats but unfortunately I'm on the East Coast and because of work I can't stay up and watch the whole. I usually wait for the Youtube video to post and watch it then. My question is do you guys have a certain time frame you try to post videos from your Twitch to Youtube? I ended up watching the Twitch past broadcast because I was too impatient, which was fine but I was just curious.

strawhatninja

Hey Jones, I really loved hearing your thoughts on the sequel you wrote for The Last Starfighter. The only thing I want to mention is that an anime kind of already did it back in the early 2000s. It's called The Legend of Black Heaven where a salary man with a family is conscripted by space aliens to get back into his metal days because only his guitar can produce the audio wavelengths necessary to destroy the enemy spaceship. All the while he's hiding this from his wife who wants him to give up on his music dreams and focus on supporting the family. Add to that the friendly alien takes on the form of an attractive woman and his wife also begins to suspect he's cheating on her. I know it's not exactly the same since you could do some very different and fun things with video games compared to music, but it's still definitely worth checking out. L&amp;R, Zachary

Phazonmasher

Congratulations Jones, Looking forward to your review of fatherhood. My CoJ question: Has EZA given any thought to taking some time to make some 'evergreen' episodes of your shows that do not get released but you just hold on to for the emergencies or vacation times, or ect.? If you don't know what I mean by evergreen, something like a Friend code where all Nintendo controllers are ranked are discussed, nothing to do with current new Nintendo news, but could be released any week. A one shot tabletop show with Don, Jones &amp; Damiami could be another example. L&amp;R Matt

Matt Brookbank

@16:47 Rehearse LOTS. Scrub those gaffes!! P.S. F-Zero X was a solid 60 FPS on the Nintendo 64. Here's a capture from an RGB mod: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGc6MSMpKiw" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGc6MSMpKiw</a>

TurboChickenMan

Hello Jones, this is just a comment and possibly sharing a life experience: As a father of a 4 year old, i tried to introducing into games very early on his life sharing the ps4 controller since the backlight attracted him, i also lend him the snes classic controller playing mario kart with me, my point to this is that he enjoyed the time with me and you can tell in his eyes and i hope that you have that same felling.

Daniel Garza Andrade

Bloodworth mentioned this a couple posts up from yours, seeing both rooms at once is the plan.

Kristen Rogers

Hi Jones, With the upgrades you are planning to get for the studio, I know you mentioned that you will be able to switch between the main studio and the streaming room, but will you be able to view both simultaneously as well? Thanks, Will

William Penney

The plan is that you'll see the desk and the streaming room and everyone at the same time. So people in the other room may be talking a bit less, but you're not going to miss them when the big moments hit. We've all agreed that trying to crowd more than 4 people on the desk really isn't ideal. -Bloodworth

Easy Allies

Hey Jones If you guys ever do a card game tournament again what do you think of the idea of having commentators on the main stage desk like at an actual tournament?

Olf Himself

Business: Hi Jones. About your comment last week regarding your E3 conference reactions setup, and having only 4 people on the desk: WHY?! This is just my opinion, but I believe that the more people reacting to and discussing the conference the better, so if there is any way to have 5 people at the desk instead of 4, you need to make it happen. As Kyle mentioned, 5 people are present during Tabletop Escapades so there is a precedent. Again this is just my opinion, but I'm sure that most of your viewership would agree with me. L&amp;R, Alex C.

Alex Castellanos

I support this idea entirely!

Alex Castellanos

Personal question: Any experience with tendonitis, arthritis, or other hand-wrist injury?

Swet T.

Sometimes I think about doing a save post for my save post... Like some kind of Save Post ception.

Jeffrey Tessar

Jones, I already congratulated you and Amanda in my video for Kyle during the community showcase so please stop asking. (Get it? Cause you are basically doing the opposite. I troll and am proud of it.) Speaking of my video, and speaking..... Jones you are a natural at talking in front of people. I feel like you have no problem exposing 95% of your life and just speak freely. I love that. It is part of what makes it so easy to feel like an ally. It is a welcoming calming feeling when you talk during cup of Jones, which is why I feel this show is so popular with us hardcore folk. I know this is a silly general question, but is there anything in particular to keep in mind when speaking on stream or in videos that helps you stay confident and engaging? You saw me, a complete mess. The audio issues and glare are things I can fix, but at times I notice my eyes wander too much and I tend to drone on about things I could wrap up. I did have some text written to help guide me, and I have actually taken speaking classes but recording video of yourself or streaming is really putting yourself out there. I did a few takes of that vid and that was somehow the best one. I was happy to let Kyle know how much he has helped my life but next ally I make a video for, I would like to go into it with some positive Jones tips, to help with the ever lasting quest of self improvement. I know you mentioned meditating before hand which I may try this time, but I need the good shit Jones. Let me know the secret tactics so I can share my love and respect with the world. Thanks for all the positive inspiration. Oh and don't worry, I plan to be excellent with these vids by the time I get to King Daddy Jones, the most important and final vid. Of course I am going to do one for you, but best for last my dude. If Amanda happens to be there, I would love her take as well cause she is a lovely speaker with really great confidence. It always feels fun when she is on screen, so if she had anything to add that's awesome. LnR4L (Jones its Love and Respect for Life, cmon man ;D ) Heidern98 (HI-durn Ninety Eight)

Jeffrey Tessar

Congrats *to you and Amanda. Sorry.

See You When I Get There

Hi Jones! Congratulations on you and Amanda! You'll make amazing parents. I've been put in a cool position to review a book for a newspaper in England- low key I have no idea what I'm doing. When you start writing your review, is there a structure you have in place that you use for every game? Like, context behind the game, what it tries to do and how does it accomplish those things- or is it a bit looser and you structure each game differently? Would love to know how you do it! all the best from London, Sean

See You When I Get There

Hey Jones! Business related suggestion, since I know you're working on assorted show promos for the YouTube channel, are you planning on one for Box Peek? I know you've talked about wanting to leverage/push Box Peek more heavily in the future for the general exposure of Easy Allies so I figured a Toonami style, narrated promo would be cool considering the show's clear anime inspirations. Just an idea and one I'm sure you'd wanna go over with Kyle first. L&amp;R

SoulfulChris

Safety post

Happy Gaming

Hey there Brandon, I posted about this last week but I don't believe it went through due to Patreon. Congratulations on your and Amanda's upcoming bundle of joy. I was catching up this evening on the last Hall of Greats and had a couple of ideas to improve for the next time, as well as some general questions about the show's setup. First off, I was curious about how the list on the right side is decided as far as order is concerned, and what your thoughts would be about having them in alphabetical order by ally, as well as possibly having their name by their entry? For instance, this would mean having Bloodworth at the top followed by each ally in alphabetical order, and having a name label by their pick when it comes up for screen the on stream. The order of presentation could still be random, but this would allow those late to the stream to see what others have brought. It would also get rid of speculation or spoilers if chat ends up figuring out an ally's entry, like what happened when they were in alphabetical order by title. My second thought was about recording the isolated voting process and I was curious about how appropriate the other rooms in the office are for this sort of thing. Would Ian's recording room, the studio where you shoot the podcasts or the hangout area be equipped to have each ally come through to vote and record? I always felt the separate voting space added to the intimate voting process in the garage, and while it might not be necessary, it could add a change of scenery and sense of weight to the process when an ally enters the room by themself. Having all the candidates laid out on the table in the podcast room sounds visually enticing as well. Wanted to get your general thoughts on this. As always, love and Respect, Brian from Happy Gaming

Happy Gaming

Hello Brandon I have three more movies for does it hold up or not. These are all horror films from the 80's to keep a trend up. Does The Evil Dead, Gremlins, or The Fly hold up?

Mr.V

Hey Jones, To balance the cheeriness of last week, here are a handful of musical horror stories: - Carrie - Jekyll &amp; Hyde - Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Asbo Zappruder

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1NGd9CLZmA" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1NGd9CLZmA</a> has everything up to RE 5

I recently beat Resident Evil 2: Remake and realized I know very little about the RE universe. Are there any plans to do a retrospective for the franchise? Or maybe even a Huber Hype series (since you mentioned he was looking for ideas)?

Kevin

Update: I snagged some Galaxy's Edge tickets as well! June 7th evening group for me. Relating to your discussion on this week's Trailer Jones, my girlfriend has never seen a single Star Wars movie! It will be very interesting to see what kind of impact Galaxy's Edge has on her, if any. Quick Disneyland question, what is the first ride you Fastpass when you get to the park? Apologies if you've answered that before. L&amp;R -Steven

Steven Sell

How much do I need to pay to get Kyle on the Nintendo E3 reactions?

Andrew Chalmers

The front carriers are AWESOMe for naptime you can listen with headphones and get up and "do research" without waking Baby =)

JessieBlu

What do you think of the idea, while you are out in the fall, of having a couple of the Allies "hijack" your Cup of Jones? Same format but they let us know ahead of time so we can ask them personal questions... I'd love Cup of Bossy or (my favorite) Cup of BLOOOOOD! Blood would be able to answer business questions better, but Kyle would be more entertaining... *reads question* &lt;scoffs&gt; "I'm not answering that, chat. Next question" L&amp;R Jessie

JessieBlu

I know you said that your dream for the studio is to eventually have the both the streaming room and the studio active and usable at the same time. Will this concept be translated to shows outside of just streaming, such as for some exclusive show in the future or having the Hall of Greats voting cups be set up in the main studio room so the cups don't have to be stacked on top of each other like they are now?

Evan Charles Teague

Personal question: Want to have a beer at E3 and talk Paw Patrol? ;-)

The Hashtagonist

Hey Mr. Jones! Now that we’re in May, I was curious if EZA was once again selected to be an E3 judge, and if so, when will judges week be? If not, how far in advance are you typically notified? I’ve really enjoyed your reports during E3 coverage in years past, and now its E3 season and I can’t get E3 out of my head until July, I’ll probably be asking E3 questions for the next month. In any event, thanks as always for taking my question and have a wonderful rest of your day! Cheers!

Brandon K Gann

I know the situation with my daughter are unique to me, but I always laugh when I hear peoples' assumptions as to what is going to happen when a child comes into your life. I am still playing games, it might not be as much and as often as I would like but I still get to play. I still love how my daughter sees me with a PS4 controller in hand, and she goes and grabs her controller and sits next to me.(she is 1.5 years)

Hi Jones! What is your favorite joke that you have memorized? l&amp;r Snowcone Guy

Snowcone Guy

Hi Jones, My question may be about something that is far off into the future, but it's something that you may have to think about, and it's something that has been on my mind occasionally even though it's something that's even further down the line for me. And that is have you or Amanda thought about what sort of content your child could intereact with or play? No one really follows those 18 ratings (atleast in the UK). I mean the first game I ever remember playing was GTA on the Game Boy Colour and PlayStation. I played every GTA game on release, along with pretty much anything else I wanted to. And yeah, I was definitely not 18 for most of them. This was helped by having an older brother who played these games, and didn't really care that I played them as well . My parents were always just hands off regarding things like this (Could be because of how they don't know very much about Computers or technology, my dad has never owned a phone or a computer, mum's better but still not great). So that could be why they didn't mind that much. Now the argument could be made that technology has made massive strides, and the games I played then are tame in comparison to the games now. I think I turned out alright, despite my exposure to all of these games (despite what the media would have you believe back then). But then I'm not sure if, were I to be a parent, I would be hands off in a similar manner. Which brings me to my question? Do you know what you would do? Is it just a wait and see thing? I guessing I'm asking these questions because this is something that you'll have to actually do, much sooner than I would have to. And I find it interesting to see the differences I get in answers.

Varun Kachhwaha

Mr. Jones. Going back to GT Live, I believe not long after you started with that show, MatPat of Game Theory started his own live show and called it... GT live... What where your thoughts when you found out about that name rehash? Anger? Amusement? Indifference? Love &amp; Respect, César.

César Villa

Are you guys going to do a show where you show gameplay of new games? ( Not counting the group streams with new games ) something like giant bombs " first look " but make it into your own

Sekiro505

In regards to last week's CoJ mention of the inevitable incoming baby gifts and possible concerns of how to handle it on the group stream, perhaps people should consider addressing those gifts to Amanda if they would prefer not to have it shown on the stream and/or possibly saving all those gifts to be opened on a special stream/video sometime in the future.

Professor Metal Gear

Time for some Cuppeth

drd7of14