Lots of Changes

I haven't posted in about 2.5 weeks, but as you might have guessed, there has been a lot going on! And the longer I delay this post, the more I have to write about!

New Opportunities
Shortly after my last post, I decided to finally take some action on an idea I've had for several weeks - to cast games from CSL (Collegiate Star League) replays. I also noticed that (at the time) the CSLTV webpage didn't have very many casts of recent games - if my videos were on there, I could suddenly get a significant increase in visibility - this made me a bit nervous!

I emailed the CSL about using logos and posting my casts on their website (since I'm not a current student, I'd need a workaround), and at the same time, they added a post asking for volunteer help (though not specifically asking for casters). Their social media guy replied to my email with how they handle live casting, which isn't quite what I'd be doing (casting from replays). But with all that's been going on, I haven't gotten back to him yet!

Production
I've been meaning to improve my summary screen production process so it takes less time. But all this CSL talk got me thinking about adding an intro screen (or video!) and even image overlays. So I started looking at more powerful video editing software, and I quickly discovered that it would take hours to render/encode a single game with these more fully featured apps on my Core 2 Duo.

I remembered a friend of mine doing some video processing work, so I emailed him for his thoughts. He did some testing which revealed that if I got a newer PC, I could reduce that encoding time to minutes. As luck would have it, he also builds PCs as a side job - and one of his recent customers didn't pay him for a PC - so he offered it sell it to me for essentially half-price...

Birthday
During the week after my last post, my son had his first birthday! So between getting nervous about the CSL and debating about video editing software and a possible PC upgrade, I did some gift shopping, some gift wrapping, and some tidying up of the house (my wife and mother-in-law did much more for the party!). I also got to rescue my wife from a flat tire - ok I got to call for a tow truck and learn from the tire place how the tires were getting ripped up due to bad wheel alignment - but that's another story for another blog ;-)

My son's birthday was great - everyone had a great time and Isaac has suddenly become a toddler - it seems like he's learning a new word every day now!

Upgrade
The day after Isaac's party, my wife, her mom and my daughter all took a "girls day out" and went to IKEA and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I decided to take Isaac out on a "boys day out" after his nap - to get a new computer. We packed his diaper bag with lots of provisions and drove about an hour up to my friend's house (who lives on a farm in Greeley, CO).

His wife was out doing a photo shoot (they also have a photography business), so it was truly a boys-only get-together. We spent the evening hanging out and talking about computers, fatherhood and of course, Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3 - and Isaac got to play with some boys for once (my friend has 2 little boys, one of them is very close to Isaac's age) and eat mac and cheese :) We had a great time and came home late with a cool new toy!

Isaac with the new PC. My daughter Madeline found a great use for the CPU box: a ducky pedestal!

Name Change
And of course, I can't forget the name change! With the possibility of a more public role in grassroots e-Sports, I was reminded that having the trademark "StarCraft" in my casting name and blog title may be an issue at some point. For starters, I could never have a Battle.Net ID of "StarcraftDad" as it includes a trademark! And would other casters call me "Dad" for short? So after much internal debate, I decided to cast as "CuePhoenix", my old, classic gaming screen name - and change the blog title to "Gosu Dad". Think of it as "I'm CuePhoenix, and I aspire to be a gosu dad".

I hope to add an About page describing the history and thoughts behind both names as well as the stats of my new PC - but one thing at a time! That and I really want to get back to casting (and playing!) StarCraft 2!

So yeah, a lot has been going on - and apparently, this is only the beginning!

Bedtime == Final Attack

Another cast from the 1v1 ladder! This time it's a Terran vs. Zerg match-up and a good example of how (or how not to) handle a turtled player. And the timing of the final attack? I told my wife I'd end the game when she was ready to call it a night - she let the dog out and got my attention - and I sent in the troops!




Update 11/1/2011: I updated the video to point at my new YouTube channel.

A Surprising Game Against Protoss

I meant to cast this game several days ago - both my wife and my opponent wanted me to cast it for the blog. It turned out to be a great game, so I'm happy to have it be my first game with my new headset!

Apologies for the loud voice volume and some of the awkward comments - I had some trouble getting familiar with the new setup, and it's been a while since I've casted a sportscast-style game...

Hope you enjoy it :)




Update 11/1/2011: I updated the video to point at my new YouTube channel.

Back in Business!

Well, after some testing, I confirmed that the microphone on my headset is completely dead - I'm pretty sure it was the cord being rolled over by the office chair too many times.

I tried using our webcam to cast, but besides picking up everything else in the room (including whatever show my wife was watching on Netflix), it also over-emphasized my S's when used with Fraps. I could try to use Audacity to edit the audio after recording - but I didn't want to add more time to my video production process.

So I started looking for a new headset.

After some online research and a personal recommendation from CmdrTallon, I settled on a Tritton AX180 headset. It's "universal" and will work with my PC, XB360 and PS3.

There have been reports of it breaking above the earphones, so I'm eager to cast a lot over the next few weeks - hopefully if it's going to break, it'll happen before my return period ends.

I've only had it a couple of days now and it seems to work well - I'm so excited to get back into the casting seat!