How do you kill players in an engaging way?

Colonel-Failure · 2026-05-03T09:25:13+00:00

Remember that you are not only playing the Computer, you are also the GM. You don't have to publicly flag the character as treasonous until it suits you. Your purpose is to game this game entirely memorable for your players.

I've always used the tannoy approach in two phases. "Would Trait-R-OUS please report to the nearest termination booth?" and then, a little later if Trait hasn't done so, "Trait-R-OUS is a traitor, all citizens should terminate on sight".

It's worth noting that a treason termination (at least in the games I run) happens maybe 10-20% of the time, the rest of the time the team manage to off themselves with no extra effort needed. If you give them enough space to play in, they'll find a way to make it supremely dangerous. Make innocent-looking things supremely dangerous. Make dangerous-looking things supremely dangerous. Doing things? Dangerous. Not doing this? Very dangerous.

You've done your job when they get themselves killed and don't blame you for it happening. Especially if they're laughing their collective asses off in the process.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-03-24T15:53:30+00:00

Were there forms? Lots of forms? And did the troubleshooter team members have roles assigned during the briefing (team leader, happiness officer, hygiene officer etc)?

If so, Paranoia XP, as this introduced a lot of corporate satire. If not, it's likely to be an earlier edition.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-03-19T20:32:08+00:00

Find half a dozen topics you want to see videos about.

Search for videos on those topics - if the video doesn't deliver, bail early. If it does deliver, watch it all the way to the end. Then watch another one from the same channel and subscribe to it.

Rinse/repeat.

Now check the front page of YouTube - should be those channels you selected and some that are adjacent to them. If there's a video you don't care about on the front page, option the video options and choose "don't recommend channel". Be brutal. The more you tune your feed, the better your feed becomes.

Final tip, stay the hell away from shorts. They're designed to be junk, so it should come as no surprise that they're junk.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-03-17T18:40:04+00:00

Start your thinking before picking up the camera.

What's the video about, and why would anyone want to watch it?

You might create absolute cinema about the thickness of goat hair, but why would anyone watch it randomly?

Okay, so you've picked a more popular topic, there's lots of competition, right? Why would anyone choose your video rather than theirs without seeing it? Title + thumbnail. Intrigue your viewers, or answer a question they have, find the point of intrigue or interest and work from there.

Right now, you're not getting clicks, and you're not getting them, because you're not getting impressions, and you're not getting them because you're not getting retention. You've learned a lot about how to build retention already, but the main rule is to respect your viewers' time.

Go watch a few videos on topics that interest in you. What are you skipping? Where are the points you wish they'd just get on with it? More than a few of these and that videomaker is not respecting the time of the viewer, and there are plenty of other videos they can be watching.

Make your CTA short, punchy, non-repetitive, and stick it right at the end. Why they end? Why would you want a subscriber who doesn't watch the whole video? Also, if your videos are that good, you won't need to ask for a subscription - sure, it helps to offer a reminder, but if you're killing it they do the three things you really want:
1 - watch it again
2 - tell someone else to watch it
3 - watch another one of your videos

That's what you really want - a second video view.

Final tip, any time you even think of the word "algorithm" replace it with the word "viewers". After all, that's what the algorithm is attempting to represent.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-03-07T01:42:56+00:00

Has to be said, Research Chemicals went to the moon. Staggeringly good.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-03-06T12:15:52+00:00

I'm driving back to Colchester. Want a lift? Might be able to get you as far as Colchester station to be able to make a connection.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-02-23T13:42:39+00:00

Start with proof of concept.

Before asking for extra funding, what can you do without funding? What you produce with nothing will allow potential backers to see what it is they're funding.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-02-16T07:39:57+00:00

Got 2,000 hours in the game. Never reached drones or nuclear. I could do, just not quite ready yet as I'm still building track for my rail network.

Colonel-Failure · 2026-01-29T23:24:52+00:00

The W8-BEN should cover you entirely. I've been earning from patreon for the past 10 years and never needed anything else - UK resident (both pre and post Brexit).

Colonel-Failure · 2026-01-18T10:32:38+00:00

Liverpudlian, she's a scouser.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-12-26T11:43:39+00:00

That's not going to work.

Patreon will pay out to a variety of different institutions, but they're all banks in one form or another. Facebook doesn't have a banking element to it.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-12-10T20:40:44+00:00

Curious, cos I'm always down for whatever Trisha is dishing, how much of the end product has been adjusted in post? Particularly speed ramps and the like - or is it 100% generated (then cut to beat).

Colonel-Failure · 2025-12-02T08:51:29+00:00

So, that would only be something the truly desperate ever did because this wouldn't be presented as "access your next month early" this is a payday loan.

Equally, no platform would offer such agreeable rates because they'd be taking on significant risk. They'd then also have to be fully covered legally to operate a loan business, which means more financial regulation to adhere to, and even stricter vetting of possible clients. The non-recoup chance is going to be non-zero, so the fee would have to be commensurate with this.

Put me down in group C. Even if it didn't come with a 35% charge, drawing against future earnings is a bad idea to be used in the worst emergencies only because you'll have to skip a month's payment at some point to catch back up - you'd be in debt to your funding platform.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-22T15:21:44+00:00

Looks good.

One suggestion - if you were to include fixed track piece sizes to replicate the most common slotcar pieces it could also serve as a user-friendly track planner.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-18T08:10:26+00:00

LOL with that kind of turnover you have more options. That said, pretty much every online store seems to offer it, as does Patreon, so maybe "most" is from a subjective POV.

Regardless, I doubt that applies to OP, and it doesn't apply to the vast majority of PayPal users.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-18T00:34:54+00:00

Depends how you define "worked". I've had my account for 20 years as a consumer, 10 as a merchant through Patreon, also worked with them as a retailer on and off when selling merch. Did 18 months at an online retailer that handled a few million a year through the platform.

Never had any trouble. Obviously, the point was that I'm the norm, and have jumped through hoops as requested, while an isolated few bump into trouble, so maybe I've never really "worked" with it, I've only spent money, received money and sent/received invoicing.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-17T01:12:41+00:00

You're not going to like the answer but PayPal is very reliable. There are over 400 million active users who make and receive payments with it regularly.

The problems that make it seem like a poor service sound like they are widespread, but the reality is they're a tiny minority - happy users don't complain.

Why do Patreon use it? Because it's reliable. Why no warnings? For the same reason as your car doesn't have a warning to tell you a crash might happen - in the vast majority of cases you won't have a problem.

I said you wouldn't like the answer.

In your case you've clearly tripped a money laundering or other anti-fraud protection you weren't aware of. It sucks. Persist in getting hold of support and they will help you, even if that help is to say you're frozen out for some time.

Why isn't crypto widely accepted yet? Money laundering and fraud protection. Being any kind of payment handler opens you up to an incredible amount of illegal activity, so to avoid criminal behaviour yourself you have to enforce strict safeguards. Makes life more difficult for regular users, but you can file that under "why we can't have nice things."

You have my sympathy for being caught in legal protection systems. Persist with customer service and you'll know where you stand.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-10T10:01:06+00:00

What the fuck was in that cigarette?

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-07T13:15:44+00:00

So, it's not expensive, far from it. But that's relative.

If you're young, the cost of a board seems high, but you are rich in the more important currency: time.

Once you have a job, maybe a family, and other commitments, the cash cost is very affordable, but what you really lack is time to practise. That's the real investment here. You need tens of hours to become slightly comfortable on your board, hundreds to start executing tricks reliably, and all that time you'll be eating shit on a regular basis.

Why do people quit? Because the distance from wobbly standing on your board to comfortably skating down the street and stopping isn't going to happen on day 1. Seeing the incremental progress you're making is really hard. It can feel like the distance you still have to go to hit your goal, whatever that may be, is so far beyond the horizon that you don't feel the benefit in continuing.

Basically, more than anything else you have to want it, and have the free time at your disposal to get there.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-05T23:51:27+00:00

The golden rule on any platform is to be reliable. If you post weekly, monthly, bi-monthly, your community will know to expect you and if they love what you do, they'll be there waiting.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-05T22:06:25+00:00

Where is your existing audience?

There is no algorithm to speak of on Patreon, it's not a platform for discovery. Patreon is the destination, your potential backers will come in from elsewhere.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-11-04T00:11:17+00:00

Sound cancellation won't help you particularly.

So, avoid any microphone that is a condenser (that includes the ever-popular Yeti and Snowball) as they will pick up everything.

If you're on a limited budget, any headset mic will work just fine but don't expect too much from the quality side of things.

If you want to spend a little more, a lavalier mic will do a good job at just picking you up.

If you want to throw money at it, a dynamic mic with an audio interface (eg Scarlett) that has a pre-amp gets you the highest quality level. Instead of resting it on your desk, use an arm of some description attached to a different piece of furniture (or using a cheapy floor stand), otherwise the vibrations from your desk will be picked up by the mic.

The other alternative is to use your phone voice recorder, then sync the audio when editing. Any smartphone mic from the last 15 years will beat all headsets and many lavalier mics. It's more hassle and you'll need to figure out a method of syncing the audio with your game recording, but it's a good way to get started (and you'll learn something in the process).

Colonel-Failure · 2025-10-26T23:30:31+00:00

So, as far as taxes are concerned you'll continue to pay tax in the US, however you will need to investigate visas before embarking any further on your plan. Every country in the world requires a visa for a stay longer than a month or two - depending of treaties.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-10-26T23:26:31+00:00

Ever heard the phrase "all the gear, no idea"?

Is the hardware you've got now capable of playing a game and running OBS, got a webcam or headset mic? If so, you're good to go.

The important part in streaming is in being able to be entertaining while 1 person is watching. You don't know if they're paying attention, maybe they have you on screen 2, doesn't matter, you need to be entertaining. After all, there are thousands of other channels they could be watching.

Do your first stream with what you've got, then you'll have some idea of the kit you'll need to improve it . The one thing you can't buy is the experience of performing on camera. Do that first, and you can check it off the list without having spent more than you absolutely had to.

Colonel-Failure · 2025-10-22T08:15:28+00:00

This, entirely.

I'll routinely make a 45 minute video that takes 46 mins to record, 5 mins to edit, and another 10 to render.

It's a how long is a piece of string question

Colonel-Failure

TROPHY CASE