MAY NEWSLETTER

Hi Patron! Thanks so much for being a patron.  It is blowing my mind that I now have over 300 patrons! With the help of Patreon I have been able to invest in new equipment which has greatly increased my productivity. For example a third monitor has been fantastic in livestreams and for editing my videos.  With increased productivity I am able to churn out videos much more often. Also, when I have being doing livestreams the patrons who have been helping me build are very much appreciated. It has meant we have been able to complete complicated 7 upgrades recordings in just two sessions!

I am live streaming Wednesday to Friday at 8pm uk time (3pm new York) and at the weekend at 4pm uk (11am New York time).  If you could support me in livestreams by just opening the stream in a tab (you don't even need to watch) you would be helping me a LOT. I am trying to get an average of 75 viewers on twitch - this will mean I can get partner status. Could you help me out?

In this month's newsletter:

1. Awful British House ROAST

2. Server News

3. Personal News

4. Downloads News

5. Youtube Tips

Extra: The above house is my most famous build. I will be trying to port it over to RTX soon!

1. Awful British House ROAST 

I have been inspired by McMansionHell which is a blog on tumblr. In it the author roasts poorly designed and furnished mansions in the USA. There are some awful examples to choose from which made me think there must be some equally terrible mansions in the UK. And there are! I found the following house located just a few hours from where I live. It costs a cool £6 Million which is about $7.5M!! There are some good parts to it and quite a few hideous! Some could not be fixed as they are architectural features but some are quite crazy furnishing. I will give the link to the house website at the bottom of this section.

Ok, so this mansion is actually made of an attractive brick which will is typical of lots of houses in England - especially the county of Yorkshire where it is located. What is not typical is the GIANT WEIRD PORTICO with ridiculous columns.  The balcony contained within appears to float! With out this awkward protrusion the house would actually be quite majestic. If I visited it as it is, I would sit on the drive shaking my head.

This is the entrance lobby.  Erm, where to start - maybe the excess of RED everywhere. Even the wood is reddish.  This would look ok in a castle.  It would be expected in a castle. But not in a private house.  I think small children would run back out the door.  Too red, too scary, too over the top. 

This kitchen seems a little over-designed and fiddly.  There are some quality modern and sleek rooms in this mansion (the pool room below is awesome). This room has more columns. Can you tell I am not a fan of columns? I have never seen columns under a table - I am in despair over this.  The giant TV at the table will ensure that the family that endures this house don't speak to each other at meals! The thing above it might abduct you and probe you to find out why you bought this carbuncle.

  2. Server News 

We have made the new live server which can be accessed by doing /live during livestreams. You will be able to help me build on the map when I am making 7 upgrade videos and kingdoms.  The portals were giving us huge problems so just type /patreon for the patreon server and /survival for survival. Please make sure to follow the instructions in discord announcements pinned post in order to join the patreon server. We have been having a few technical problems with the server in the last month and we apologise for any inconvenience.  I think we have solved most problems and continue to trouble shoot as we go.  We have added a plugin for custom armor stands in the patreon server. JJTCake is making a video guide on how to use them - watch out for this in the youtubers discord channel. Talking of which - this new channel in discord is for Youtubers and others to discuss thumbnails, videos and strategies. 

 3. Personal News 

Hmmmm - personal news? Not sure what to write here! I have just been staying in my house and making videos and livestreams mostly! I fitted a new shower!? My other job is a urban and woodland survival instructor. This job I am not able to do as the courses have been cancelled due to the SARS-CoV2 virus. It is really annoying not to be able to go into the woods and have a fun time with a class.  I was teaching an urban class last year and went over what to do if there is a pandemic. I have been expecting a pandemic and was very prepared for this one.  I did not think it would be a coronavirus though - I thought it would be influenza. An influenza pandemic is still going to happen at some point. Hopefully this pandemic will make us more prepared for future ones - at a horrible cost.  I hope you are managing and adapting. Humans are very good at making the best out of bad situations. I have been going on cycles - hopefully I can video one of these for Patreons!

 4. Downloads News 

Tomorrow I will be uploading an updated Upgrades 2020 map - added to the map since last time will be LIGHTHOUSES, DOCKS and HOMESTEAD. 

I will be uploading my medieval schematic pack for JediMaster rank and above today!

To use these schematics you will need a JAVA edition server with world edit. Put the schematics in the schematics folder in the world edit plugin folder. Load them with the /load schematic command. Message me in discord if you need any more help with this.

 5. Youtube Tips 

This is a new section for the newsletter - let me know what you think.

Some tips for aspiring YouTubers: the three C's:

1. Creative - be creative! Be funny and original or do something better than anyone

2. Collaborate - work with other Youtubers of roughly the same size

3. Consistency - have an upload schedule or regular uploads that you can stick to. People will expect your videos at a certain frequency or time. Pick a schedule that you can manage. Quality of video is way more important that quantity of video.

Your thumbnail and title is the MOST important aspect of getting a click. Your thumbnail must look so good it just has to be clicked. Your title should compliment your thumbnail and all your titles would do well to follow the same consistent style.  Avoid text in thumbnails. Faces are excellent in thumbnails. White outlines around objects or faces are good too.  Good free software to make thumbnails with is GIMP 2.0.  Davinci Resolve is good free editing software.

I hope this helps!!!

Thanks so much again for being a Patron - it means the absolute world to me. If you have any ideas of what else I can offer patrons then please let me know.  Please join your patreon to discord by going to user settings in patreon then apps and joining discord. That way you can join in the chats on discord!

You are awesome!

Take care and message me on patreon with any questions or ideas!

Andy.