Spirit of the Podcast | Town Center - Ep. #20 with the TheViper and Masmorra feat. Spirit of the Law

[@2MeatyOwlLegs]

Very cool to have SotL on the show. Really enjoyed it. He seems like a really nice person :) But it's always weird to finally have a face to someone's voice you listened to for so long without ever seeing their face

[@miraiatc]

He looks exactly the way I imagined him

[@Danish_raven]

​@@miraiatc he really does have "highschool math teacher" energy

[@misteral9045]

OG viewers of Spirit knew what he looks like. A few of his very old videos contained face pics (now deleted).

[@franzjacke]

there was an interview with him already. was that taken down?​@@misteral9045

[@yutuvefan4ever]

@@misteral9045 I was just about to comment this, many MANY years ago he did a face reveal on his channel

[@crazymagoo6694]

SoTL is always my favorite guest. Keep up the good work!

[@crazymagoo6694]

Sorry Dave...

[@Titanxxx333xxx]

@@crazymagoo6694 Dave def banned you

[@alejandroballesteroshernan1678]

Well now I just want a podcast of Viper and SOTL talking about Lord of the Rings

[@Collins1dan]

Masmorra... dislikes lotr and also didn't get into AoE for the history side.... disappointing!

[@donaldfarquar]

1 min in and Vipers lotr throne has been challenged 😂. Spirit of the Law and Viper Lotr podcast for the win!

[@thephoenix2217]

I almost left the podcast after listening to that heresy. I would've left it if it wasn't for Spirit of the Law who I like, and with whom I once played AoE:DE (the first one) when he was testing it. My tolerance for... low quality opinions (I'm being polite here) is near zero nowadays. Tolkien is amazing and his Middle-earth related books are my favorite. Very deep, very sophisticated. Inability to see that is not a valid criticism of the books, but self-criticism of the critic.

[@MasmorraAoE]

@@thephoenix2217 Good thing I never mentioned the books then! :) Thanks for watching!

[@zaptosmedia4707]

Spirit of the Law feeds my autistic side. Sometimes after a long day I just want to think about nothing else except when I should research economy upgrades in a game I have not played for 20 years.

[@nickmyers3065]

I ve been ADHD undiagnosed for ever. I recently got diagnosed as a 35 year old adult... Chess and AOe2 are games I loved, but never knew how to really play. Like I know how the pieces move, but never knew about openings. Chess and AOE2 have something in common. Openings( buildorder). Ever since I've started replaying both.. DUDE.. I wish I was in this mind set back when I was a kid. But yes spirit of the law really gets my fix to optimise and learn. Like how I am with factorio... Damn I just thought I should replay that now on the hardest mods...

[@misteral9045]

@@zaptosmedia4707 I think you're confusing autism with passion.

[@ruffymaru]

I feel like that too. I'm always researching and watching AOE, but haven't played it for a year already

[@nickmyers3065]

@@ruffymaru Theory without practice is not really preparing :P

[@xAptenodytE]

SOTL is mind blowingly intelligent and creative. Very nice that you could make this Podcast with him. Incredible insights, not do demean the other Podcasts but it often feels like there is a bit of regurgitating going on (although they are still good). This was a nice breeze of fresh air. His perspective is so unique on different on so many aspects. For me he is the true Goat of Aoe2 :)

[@misteral9045]

He and Ornlu are the casual side of Aoe2, Spirit is actually smart.

[@2nightwehunt]

Nelson...I appreciate you being so brave and voicing your opinion....its a horrendous one in my eyes but thats fine. People have different tastes.

[@MasmorraAoE]

Hahaha That's the spirit! Pun intended 😅 Thanks for watching!

[@RambinoYT]

Bravery and stupidity can be the same sometimes 😂

[@franzjacke]

​@@RambinoYT11

[@maxv2798]

I could listen for hours to Spirit Of The Law, talking AoE2... super interesting, intelligent and genuienly nice guy

[@kyotokid]

Very happy that Spirit of the Law agreed to this. Great chat, great podcast

[@karthiksrinivasan5120]

Spirit brought me back to the game after 20 years! And then T90 got me hooked.

[@Oakenlix]

Spirit of the Law looks exactly how I would imagine him, in the coolest way possible

[@andreicristian9575]

He looks like a Hollywood actor. Very charismatic.

[@brucebrown2720]

So much fun listening to you guys. Spirit of the Law is one of the sites I watch every video. By the way, when you guys are in your fifties and carrying on. I'll be in my later 70's or early 80's , struggling with the crappy Internet in my nursing home and arguing with the nurses that I'll take my pills after watching your videos, and not a moment sooner.

[@danielaaoe]

Great episode as always, guys! Absolutely banger of an episode, SOTL seems like a really nice guy, and God knows how much he's helped this community grow. Respect!

[@eldanx]

SOTL out there thinking people watch him for anything other than the calmest and most chill voice that has ever existed

[@rusael333]

Masmorra try not to be a contrarian Challenge level - Impossible

[@OytheGreat]

This was the best Podcast yet! The two most likeable content creators in the world together, fanboying about LotR and AoE2, I was smiling the whole way through. In fact I'm a bit sad it was over so soon, despite being the length of a feature length movie or an average game of aoe2 on my pleb level. 11

[@kwiiin_]

Someone tell Spirit his voice is so dreamy and soothing, I could listen to him for hours.

[@tokagerkun]

Masmora with officially the worst take in movie history.

[@smellyhhh]

He's correct.

[@ralfwolters3843]

​@@smellyhhhI respect your opinion but would like to hear your reasoning for it

[@MrMe-zp1pm]

The burn of spirit was hilsrious 😂

[@SirQuantization]

@@smellyhhhhe’s objectively wrong, the LOTR movies have been globally praised as one of if not the greatest adaptions ever made and the source material is one of the most respected works of fantasy ever written that has had an unfathomable impact on the genre as a whole.

[@smellyhhh]

@@SirQuantization He even says that these are good movies, but he argues that the plot is simple and predictable. Which is valid criticism. Viper and Spirit just pull this criticism and label Masmorra as a LOTR-Hater during the Episode, but actually he's just not a fanboy.

[@fasstaerke]

that was so much fun, looking forward to seeing spirit in one of the quizzes

[@AlexB-vt5xe]

This is one of my favorite episodes so far, thank you

[@prathamesh5497]

I love this one.

[@Klautsche]

I don't play AoM but I'd totally watch the hell out of a "Spirit of Mythology" channel :D

[@AMDGBananaBen]

If you want some good AOM creators, check out IamMagic he does great breakdowns of gameplay, gameplans and the like while also being a very strong tournament player. Or if you want to watch replays, check out Moose AOM, Fitzbro or Boit T.V =)

[@nicolinrucker5181]

On LotR... If LotR seems predictable to you, it's because literally every fantasy EVER is copying LotR.

[@coolschrank-ps1rf]

Should be more likes on this! Spot on! ❤

[@daarom3472]

​@@coolschrank-ps1rfand LOTR took huge inspiration from norse/german mythology. These are eternal archetypes.

[@NathanCassidy721]

Yep. I see the same shit from people who watch Star Wars and go, “I’ve seen this before…”

[@bbqcheese-au]

Can tell you guys are having good fun doing this - please keep these up!

[@mertyilm_z]

This guy, is an amazing person. Such kindness

[@AMDGBananaBen]

The dynamic between Spirit and Viper is so amusing! Like a big/little brother. So fascinating to see Spirit in the flesh, good stuff to all of them =)

[@andreicristian9575]

Who's the big brother? :D

[@AMDGBananaBen]

@@andreicristian9575 Haha

[@AOE2Minis]

The Viper is right, every good movie is about good guys beating bad guys. LOTR just does it best

[@75353866]

No country for old men, there will be blood, blue ruin, goodfellas, shutter island...just some movies that are great where it is not that concept

[@leopoldkoppen9081]

Wow, Masmorra I got an autograph from you in Berlin, and now you are trying to tear down my favorite Books and Films! Preposterous!

[@marcuspontius3967]

Great episode! Was a pleasure to listen to. I liked his very rational view on the whole yt and content creating topic. And certainly those kids who might become lucky to attend a SotL course in that subject will be prepared with a much clearer and probably healthier mindset.

[@rhabarberralle5128]

What a nice guy this Spirit-Man is. Thank you!

[@FloosWorld_AoE]

Oh wow, I didn't expect the next episode to arrive that early :o I don't know how possible it is, but it'd be great if you can get Sandy Petersen for one of the future episodes as he worked on the original game at Ensemble. :D As for the Persian architecture thing, I think they want Persians to have the same set as Cumans and Tatars

[@TheLonelyWingedHussar]

From what I read on the official forum, some people wants a unique and more historical accurate architecture for Persians. And that is before the "rework".

[@norrdal]

Can we just take a moment to appreciate that the GL AoE channel has more subs than the GL main channel? Well done guys, let's go!

[@Gardo_11]

the man the myth the legend! is this a first time reveal of SOTL!! he’s the goat

[@GabrielBaker-nj8zl]

He did a previous interview with Masmorra on his personal channel, about two years ago. You’ve got a whole other hour to listen to!

[@snack711]

already looking forward to the next SOTL episode! would have loved him to elaborate more about his maths background

[@Rotrokas]

Im a casual. But the only reason i keep playing aoe2 is the competitive scene. It inspires me to try things and to know how much more dept the game has. If pathing is important for the competitive scene is important to me.

[@misteral9045]

So you're casual but you play competitively? 🤔

[@Rotrokas]

@@misteral9045 Im around 1000 elo sometimes more somtimes less.

[@misteral9045]

@@Rotrokas So you're casual but you play competitively? Are you just saying casual because you're a newer player or you're just not a good competitor?

[@Rotrokas]

@@misteral9045 Casual because i do not have time to play, only once week or even twice a month. I've been a casual for several years maybe 10 or more and the only reason i have not left the game is because im inspired by the competitive scene as explained before.

[@misteral9045]

@@Rotrokas So the answer to my question is that you are using casual to describe your frequency of play, despite the fact that you play in order to compete.

[@floriangailliegue6760]

"Otto" Villager is a thing in AoE3 for a civ but. The vils are free but generate slowly. They start with a limit of 25 and techs can help you improve the speed of creation and the max limit. So that can be a one Civ thing.

[@Razius33Officiel]

About the tutorial part (1:17:00 approximatively), please look up the mod "Interactive Build Order Guide" made originally by zero empire. Anyone willing to have a glance at a competitive build order can launch the scenarios of this mod, and by guided both vocally and textually through the steps of the build orders, ranging from 22pop scouts to 27+2 Fast imp with Turks. Re-making this kind of content, even 5 bucks paid dlc, would help tremendously. But I would rather have it expand the art of war free tutorial

[@tomas.hrazdira]

I also wanted to note this. Just to correct you a little, the mod is voiced by Zero empires, the creator is Cicero7800

[@Andreecals]

Amazing talk. I'm not huge on podcasts, but just the perspective of listening to Spirit and theViper interacting directly is a hugely interesting topic to me, as they are like two sides of the same coin that I always enjoy, but always separately... until now. Here's to new iterations! And I also liked getting to know this funny Portuguese bad takes with a straight face man.

[@GabrielBaker-nj8zl]

Masmorra also has another interview with Spirit from a few years ago on his personal channel

[@Yang.Wenli33]

Masmorra, I should add something about Lord of the Rings. First of all, you're right. Yes, the plot is rather predictable and cliche. However, I should also add smth else. Lord of the Rings was one of the first mainstream works that crafted a genre called high fantasy by emulating mythology. Mythological stories are predictable but epic, engaging, and outstanding. That's why humanity has these stories all over the place. Now, imagine a work that copies this formula in such a great way that the work is almost a mythology itself. That's the strong suit of the LOTR universe. I wouldn't say LOTR started the fantasy genre of literature; it would be a bold claim, but it definitely solidified its place as a mainstream, beloved genre. Besides, the characters are just epic, and they carry the books or movies a lot. The main influence of LOTR is Norse/Germanic mythology btw, and since LOTR influenced the fantasy genre a lot, we see lots of similar mythological creatures from those mythologies like I don't know, Trolls, Giants, Valkyries, Elves, Dwarves, etc. Even AoM has these units. Even the Dragon designs, although there are lots of different dragons from various places, are mainly influenced by LOTR and Norse mythology these days.

[@youcanthandlethetruth5433]

Tolkien was a devout Catholic. It's the story of Jesus Christ filtered through Norse/germanic mythology. Of course modern day seculars would hate on that for the sake of being edgy

[@thephoenix2217]

No, the plot is not predictable and cliche. Mythological stories are also not predictable. I get that people today have seen a lot of stuff but "predictable" means you can predict what will happen. If I asked you what will happen in some myth story you didn't hear of, no, you wouldn't be able to predict. Moreover, with Tolkien, his books are original. There was nothing like it before him, and actually nothing like it after (though many attempts to mimic it, but these attempts end up being pure fantasy without the depth that makes Tolkien's books so good).

[@Nysyarc]

@@thephoenix2217 The overall plot is actually quite predictable by definition. If you were to ask several people who had never heard the story before to predict the outcome of the story while only giving them the context of "a group of good people set out on a quest to destroy a ring which holds the life force of a great evil that will become all-powerful if it regains possession of the ring", surely at least one the people would say something to the effect of "I'm guessing they successfully destroy the ring and all the good people live happily ever after". Which, you know, is kind of what happens. Obviously there's far more detail and nuance to the story than that, but nobody could be expected to accurately predict every single element of even the most blatantly tired B-movie. That doesn't mean the plot of the movie isn't predictable on a whole, and it doesn't mean a story being predictable is necessarily a bad thing. To your last point, while Tolkien introduced a lot of original ideas in The Lord of the Rings, he drew heavily from many works that came before him, as practically every successful author in history has done. Beowulf was an especially significant influence for him, and there are many elements of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings that borrow from that epic poem as well as many other Old English works. Lastly, there are many works of high fantasy that were written since Tolkien's time and which were influenced at least in part by his works that are more than worthy of being mentioned in the same breath. One that immediately comes to mind is Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Cycle. LeGuin's worldbuilding and character development are peerless and she writes in beautiful prose that is objectively easier to read than Tolkien's own style. It does not detract from Tolkien's achievements to acknowledge the achievements of others. His works have been an inspiration for many writers since, and are certainly masterworks of high fantasy that will always be revered. But that doesn't mean nobody will ever write anything better or that nobody to this day has ever written anything as good.

[@kallearkkila5216]

​@@Nysyarcfalse. Example Frodo failed on his mission, he didnt destroy the ring. Thats why he wasnt happy&smiles in bed when Sam came to room after everybody else. Because Sam was the reminder that he failed. I guess it looks cheap and predictable if you dont get it at all.

[@thephoenix2217]

​@@Nysyarc Saying that the plot is predictable because good wins over evil is ridiculous, especially considering all the Silmarillion stories. Also, you're talking about the "outcome", not the "plot". As the other person said, they failed to destroy the ring. The whole "good people live happily ever after" - uh, no. That's not Tolkien. You should rewatch the scene with Elrond and Arwen, in which Elrond basically tells her she'll be happy for a short while and then miserable for long years after. Lothlorien fades. The good actually withdraw from the Middle-earth and leave. The not-so-great race of Men is left to dominate. Things get gradually worse in Tolkien's works, not better. There's is no happily ever after in Tolkien's works. Quite the opposite. I recommend watching a YT video titled: "The Philosophy of J.R.R. Tolkien: Why Things Keep Getting Worse - Wisecrack Edition".

[@hannesv6567]

Awesome to see and hear you guys talking :)

[@theodentherenewed4785]

The plot of LotR is simple, because it's a classic story. Good guys truly do impossible things to beat evil guys, it shouldn't be any different.

[@piuxqgsm]

SOTL goat revealed imo

[@RandomUser-z6v]

He got revealed 2 years ago

[@GabrielBaker-nj8zl]

Masmorra has another interview from a few years ago on his personal channel

[@TheOhioNews]

Yesss thanks for asking my question 😊😊😊

[@ddk220]

I feel viper looks a lot more like a Viking now - is it the beard or becoming a dad?

[@yg-dn5ms]

It’s the bear for sure

[@tomas.hrazdira]

I think he looks like Harry Potter tbh 11 look at his forehead

[@TeaTimeMr]

Still hope for SotL to cover some AoM Mechanics

[@coolschrank-ps1rf]

One of the Best guests for me❤

[@coolschrank-ps1rf]

And of course y2 are great comentators, good questions, over all enjoyed it A LOT keep it comming😊 (And im not with masmorra on lotr😅 stik by the sources especialy if tolkien is the source; fk "lame plot" honor his work!, his selfmade universe with gods, demigods, languages, ... ... i personaly think "good vs evil" or even friendship is NOT outdated. In hard times y want THIS to tell urself that frodo made it too.😂 and that everyone has a SAM in needs. But no hate! i just love tolkien😊)

[@Razius33Officiel]

To iterate on your take, Nelson, about Lord of the Rings, I believe this feeling may be the same kind that the one one would feel when play the original Ocarina of Time nowadays, without nostalgia. Those pieces of art were just made a long time ago, when probably nothing could compare, and they shaped the landscape around them. So it's only natural that they feel a bit "standard" nowadays, because every relatable item of their gendra since they came out tried to emulate from them. So it is only natural to have mixt feelings when looking at them with nowadays standard, that they shaped.

[@Wannabepirate]

Nice take. I agree, this has been my experience with introducing Lord of The Rings to friends 20 years later.

[@WillyMacShow]

I personally think the best way for the game to survive is to go more main stream. The best way for the game to go more main stream is to support the modding community. I even think paying bigger streamers that aren’t age related to participate in some modded LOTR lobby or something

[@buuwere]

Real fun, thank you guys

[@bigtrees1727]

To masmorras auto queue villager idea. A visible pause between a new villager being trained would work better than a longer training time for the villager.

[@erickr199]

very fun, spirit is a real one

[@BekeroParyin]

The way to do the 28 second auto villagers would to just have a few seconds of delay in between the villager creation. When it's enabled, after 3 seconds of idle TC queue a villager if the player has the food. That way there's no complication of different queue times and it's clear to new players that it's not perfect.

[@noahmiller91]

There were different lobbies on voobly too! New player lobby for ranked would be ideal! Can start everyone in there at say 800 elo, and then after say 50 games, they join normal ranked, but will have a rough rating to use into ranked, rather than starting at 1000 elo and having to lose several games before hitting the correct level of opponent.

[@marcleduc4892]

Love SOTL! Absolute legend of the game, stoked to see who you find next. If there is a place for suggestions let us know.

[@vkiordanov]

The man, the legend.... the spirit!

[@Majiger]

The reason Nelson finds LotR as "cliche" and "boring" is because he's missing the part where LotR is what started these cliches in the first place, at least in terms of high fantasy. The hero's journey is a standard story trope that has been used since forever, and it's no different in LotR. I think his main issue is that we have recently got exposure to more visceral/violent fantasy like Game of Thrones and Fallout, that in comparison LotR feels tame and "safe". In regard to the pathing of UP1.5 vs Now, I think the UP did exactly what @AdmiralWololo was referencing in one of his videos, where the collision models were likely made a certain percentage smaller to avoid collision/stoppage like we see in SC2. I believe that the current devs went back to the original model of pathing/collision similarly to SC1, but not as bad, where you need to implement certain movement command or formation tricks to prevent units from colliding and stopping.

[@colmduffy2272]

Community supported projects, where you can apply for funding, and it is assessed on some composite metrics in terms of what they deliver to the community. That is a great idea SoL. I agree 💯.

[@WillyMacShow]

I entirely disagree with your guys views on content creation and viability. Viper saying "how many people did this 10 years ago? We don't know what it will look like in 50 years plus." Imagine Henry Ford mass producing the car for the first time and saying, "I don't know if this will still be a thing in 10 years." It's the future man. If anything there will be more user generated content not less imo. Amazing pod as usual just had to give my pointless opinion lmfao

[@andrewphethean7250]

My opinion on auto vill queue has changed. I used to think that it would be a good idea, as it is just a basic skill that detracts from strategic planning and thus makes it more like learning scales and less like composing a symphony. But now I feel that technical/mechanical ability is a very important part of the game that I have worked hard to hone. I play others who beat me despite having way worse macro and instead have invested their time in other strategic aspects of the game and outplay me in those areas. Sometimes I win thanks to my superior economy, sometimes they win thanks to their superior adaptation/strategy/ micro or whatever else and this provides some interesting variety to the game. If everyone could macro perfectly because of auto vill, those hard won skills would be wasted.

[@yg-dn5ms]

Masmorra doing the lord’s work, sensing tension between those two right away and immediately made himself the target!

[@yuuya5985]

He's the Lord's servant.

[@Klautsche]

What tension? I feel like there was more tension afterwards after this bad opinion :D

[@Progeusz-]

I didn't sense any tension, it's just that both Viper and Spirit were being cautious with how deeply they know LotR to potentially not overwhelm the other one with their respective nerdiness which is perfectly normal when two big fans of the franchise meet for the first time. You would know that from experience if you were ever truly passionate about some hobby. They were slowly opening up to each other, excited to hold a fascinating conversation until they got dragged into bottom of the barrel "hot takes" destroying the magical moment.

[@daarom3472]

​@@Progeusz-so relatable. I often meet LOTR "fans" who then look at my weirdly when I recite the Ring inscriptions in Black Speech 😂

[@Progeusz-]

@@daarom3472 hahaha, I get it. I'm not at that level but I would definitely appreciate it if i met you! I fell out of it a long time time ago, partly because there weren't many others in my circles who read Silmarilion too. Still, I read all books several times and have been spreading Tolkien love for more than 20 years. My favorite thing about the main books were all the lore tidbits in "afterword". It's so impressive that beyond the events of the story told, author came up with all the backstories, setting detail, unique languages. This is a monumental masterpiece with incredible impact on fantasy and culture. Nothing else can compare to it and it deserves all the reverence.

[@johngaltego1]

What a great episode!!! Amazing job! Well besides Masmoras take on LoTR!! GROND!!!

[@justcord10]

Love playing custom games with mods with my brother and dad. Exploding vils, 3x tech, etc. Great memories and moments.

[@Kaaxe]

Would have loved to see Spirit show up, even as just a spectator in one of the wololo tournaments

[@manix429]

Spirit of the Law: Retold (2nd channel name)

[@Yang.Wenli33]

Btw, villager auto-queue could be nice for single-player matches for AoE2. Most players play the game in single-player mode against the AI. This could ease their games and help them against the AI better, but in the ranked mode, I agree.

[@bacchic6676]

Thank you Masmorra for understanding the question lol I was thinking about art of war and more generally with things like auto queue, which was kinda covered earlier in the podcast. For all the words in the comment, I should've been more specific in where the game could help with things like how to fight effectively with different unit types, when and how to engage your opponent, etc. It was interesting that they both think KZbin does a better job of this.

[@kinbine_]

Not even 5 minutes and masmora made spirit is mad LMAO i love you guys

[@wadas9042]

Spirit is huge part of aoe scene, i hope tournament organizers would ask him to take even a little part of some tournament, not too much but just as little cherry on top

[@IlmarcheseJacky]

The problem about pathing I think should be compared with how big other issues are. Is there a glaring issue or bug that affects a larger proportion of people than pathing?

[@akshaykulkarni47]

Dev's can implement auto queue villagers like they implemented handicap feature , won't affect all the games but will give players who want to enable the option can do that

[@hansoskar1911]

I think you should have braught in the Spirit of the alw jingle in one of the quiz shows as a surprise fake civ jingle. that would have been really funny.

[@TheOhioNews]

So hyped for this 😮

[@TheOhioNews]

Nelson throws out bad takes like Oprah throws out new cars. You get a bad take! You get a bad take! EVERYBODY GETS A BAD TAKE! I'm here for it though. 😂

[@ajean7855]

@masmora basically every story shared by humans follows the heroes journey. Its a basic story plot that is transendental to the human condition. Hence its simplicity :) imho

[@karanrime8948]

the 28-second villager idea is sort-of how they do it in aoe3; specifically it's the Ottomans bonus that vils (Yoruks) are autotrained for free, but take much longer than other civ's vils.

[@misteral9045]

And they have a low vil limit until they build a mosque and research techs, and the vil training time is significantly slower than everyone else until they research more techs. And they only have one age 2 Infantry that costs more than regular musketeers. And they focus heavily on siege that doesn't cost a lot of food. Kinda like having free villagers is so powerful that the entire civ needs to be built around it for it to function and to be not overpowered. It's not something you can just slap into being a game mechanic. Edit: something that would be a lot more Aoe2 appropriate is Russians training vils in blocks of 3 with a 3% discount.

[@Icehawk55082]

I must admit, for all the Dad jokes and puns in his videos, I always pictured SOTL looking more...middle-aged Dad. :P Looking good Spirit!

[@fritzfahrmann4730]

SOL Community fund idea is great, also for workshop creators and so on ... maybe just free DLCs for those

[@AlexB-vt5xe]

Thanks for another great episode, can you please maybe change the font? or i don't know if its just me but its difficult to read. Also, Spirit, what are all those boxes on the shelfs above your left shoulder?

[@Ian8008]

Many, many civs - that's fine. Interesting even. When it comes to a competition I think it would help to reduce the number of civs for that competition - at least for some of them. The issue I have is a lack of detail on what bonus/unit/upgrade they have. Many when casting don't give a good brief on what these details are and what they do etc. so I get lost on what's happening and why.

[@martijnkamphuis6487]

Love the podcast, listen to every episode. Just want to share that for me it could be a little less about content creation, streaming, twitch, youtube etc. and a little more about the game, good/bad plays, tourneys, meta, balance, stats and all other more game related stuff.

[@k5555-b4f]

1:03:12 goated metaphor 11; great talk as always guys, keep it up !!

[@vojtechvanek1686]

I very much think same what Viper said about quick play; it should use your ELO for purposes of finding your opponent/s if applicable.

[@TheGeneralgrim]

What if auto queue was a research that had to be done in the end game, available to all civs?

[@krityaan]

As for the disdain for pathing, it is honestly the most noticeable in the detailed and intricate maps of the campaigns than on my multiplayer games. Simply load up the Siege of Vilnius scenario and command your army to the siege point, and watch as half of them get stuck on the walls and stop moving.

[@userthefirst]

We need SotL in the Quiz!!

[@zuzuofthezoons3659]

That is a great idea to have SOTL on the quiz game show!! I have never played Age of Myth and probably never will but I would watch anything SOTL puts out on it. Lastly, @Masmorra I have to disagree with your opinion of LOTR. It is such a powerful story. In the books the ending isn’t as cliche as the movies but even the movies are really well done.

[@nicolasdragas]

I used to make a weekly post about regional monks, still waiting

[@Odium1002]

This was great. Would be great if spirit joins something like the quiz, but he definitely seems like a private fella. Anyway, if you read this, love the content!

[@ralfwolters3843]

i completly agree with masmorra on auto vill queue. Auto scout is literally the same thing but there has to be a big disadvantage to do everything automatically. I understand u have to think about it how to implement it but overall i see no problem with it.

[@paulgoodman1620]

I think the best/most simple way to implement it would be that if it's turned on, after each villager finishes, the TC just goes idle for ~3 seconds before queuing the next on. That gives you a smooth way to turn off the training wheels- if you hit your macro timing and queue the next villager manually you skip the delay. Then maybe make military auto-queue an Imp tech for 200 Food 500 Wood.

[@ralfwolters3843]

Yeah i understand they need to think about how to implement it but if there is a big disadvantage to do it so decent players dont use it but its very helpful to newer or worst players i see no problem. When i see players below 500 elo play the game i just think about how long the game takes for them where they can no longer do 1 or 2 quick games in a evening because they take 2 hours for them

[@nickmyers3065]

I didnt even know there was a podcast!

[@Ian8008]

Er - Spirit - you need two channels - one for AOM and another for AOE - though personally, I'd watch both!

[@martinturtak4901]

Masmora just to let u know lord of rings has 17 academy awards.

[@monsieurbaggins3458]

Spirit of the Lore has a nice ring to it for an AoM channel ngl

[@garrettshort7920]

Masmorra has a good point about more tutorials being needed.

[@b.b.9589]

i can think of 2 (team) games in the last week where i specifically lost my side because of early pathing. one where a vill walked backwards into a boar around a gold it was already past and died, giving enemy the boar on nomad. the other where melee units didn't attack multiple times with direct clicks and cost a vill fight. plus the idling on resources. vills are the big problem rn and definitely affects the multiplayer a lot

[@AoLIronmaiden]

The Lord of the Rings *is* the staple of fantasy storytelling, c'mon Nelson! It is the quintessential story of good triumphing over evil!

[@TimClauson]

I'd like there to be a deep dive to unravel some of the code behind the pathing and put it in laymen terms. We've been talking about this forever, yet there doesn't seem to be any kind of marked improvement. Is it because of a fundamental limitation in the code? Does the entire code base need a rewrite?

[@GLAgeOfEmpires]

Its pretty simple, code is old as hell and therefore super hard to work with.

[@TimClauson]

@@GLAgeOfEmpires so how much of an undertaking is a rewrite? I'm assuming it's not impossible.

[@tyranitararmaldo]

9:46 Actually he's saying to switch them to the same one as Tatars & Cumans. Not for a unique one.

[@andresperedo1275]

In case you read this comment and you take it seriously enough (as I am just a random guy). I assume that you will maybe discuss the patrol micro in the next podcast, maybe just to say that it was not important (as Hera and Viper already said), but I would like to give my two cents because I have the feeling that many people is missing the core of the issue: Of course there are some comments from haters that were sore because the viper lost the final, because they don't like hera, or because they just want to flame. But there are also comments that try to convey a very fair criticism. That said, first of all, considering that micro as cheating is absurd. Moreover, the admins allowed it, and the players were fine with it, no question over that. I think it is also clear that the micro is an unintended exploit of the game mechanics. There are many of those, some that had been patched (like scouting with palisades) some that did not. Also there is a grey area that makes things difficult to define: if the devs did not intend something to be used, should we use it? The devs wanted that we play at normal speed, normal victory conditions and 75 pop, but here we are. I would say that the devs did not wanted that people can dodge ballistics or make quick walls (and even some players, ejem, Daut, are against those). One question that remains is: why some people perceived that as an issue? We use other exploits and there are completely fine, what makes that one special? Mostly two things: first, the micro is extremely easy, two clicks and its done. If you want to quick wall you need to be fast. If you want to dodge ballistics you need to spend a lot of attention there. That is not the case here. Second, just one player can benefit from it while the second one cannot make anything to counter it. That is a clear issue when the situation erupts. Finally, and this is the important part: what are the pros and the admins of the tourney are missing here? Or, why people is critizicing this behaviour? It is a matter of image, of the impression that it leaves in the viewers. When you see that a unit is able to not just survive but shred a clear counter, that the other player cannot do anything to prevent it, and when it is quite obvious an exploit (even if it is an accepted exploit), that just leaves you with a bad impression. For example, in football the action does stop exclusively if the referee whistles. But, if a player of the oppossing team is injured in the ground, is a matter of sportsmanship from the team controlling the ball to throw it out and stop the game purposely. Sometimes it does not happen, and it could just be that the team with the ball did not realize about the situation, but it looks bad in any case. Are many examples like that (not giving back the ball after the other team stopped the game, losing time purposely, walk slowly out of the field when your team is winning and they change you...), and although there are not against the rules, and many of those are done by almost any team, they give a very bad impression of unsportsmanship to the public. Even if they are accepted by every player and the referees. This is exactly the same kind of thing. My opinion is that neither Hera, Viper or the admins have thought about this. I think they were all acting naively and none of those took it as unsportmanship. But many of the viewers did, and that matters a lot at the end of the day. So this is just an experience to learn about public perception of the game, and to distinguish fair and unfair criticism.

[@stevenfoster6062]

What if melee units could move while attacking?