Red Bull Battlegrounds Feedback Thread

Tournament organizers are in a unique position to deliver customized high quality viewing experiences to our community through the events they host. At the end of the day, thoughts and constructive critiques from the community regarding a tournament stream or live event are some of the most valuable types of feedback an organizer can possibly receive. This information allows organizers to refine both their visions and methods in order to create a more compelling experience for us, the community.

I know firsthand how hard Day[9], his team, and Red Bull worked to deliver an incredible experience to his fans and how much they care about bringing amazing things to this community. Their dedication and passion are truly inspiring. In an effort to maintain an open dialogue and acquire the aforementioned valuable insight, I'd like to use this thread as the Red Bull Battlegrounds Feedback Thread.

For your reference:
Click here for the < Official Team Liquid Post >
Click here for the < Official Liquipedia Page >
Click here for the < Day 1 Live Update Thread >
Click here for the < Day 2 Live Update Thread >
Click here for < Stream 1 (day9tv) >
Click here for < Stream 2 (redbullgaming) VODs >
Click here for < Stream 3 (redbullsc2 VODs >

Topics to consider:
Stream Production (camera work, multiple streams, overlays, graphics, brackets, etc.)
In-House Production (venue, setup, seating, lighting, sound, atmosphere, experience, etc.)
Tournament Logistics (schedule, bracket style, transitions/downtime, etc.)
Content (videos, interviews, fast facts, opening ceremony, player intros, closing ceremony, etc.)
Communication (flow of information, original TL thread, live update threads, updates during event, social media, etc.)
Promotion (promo contest, rewards, ticket sales process, inclusiveness, outreach, etc.)
...and more!

Please try to keep discussions as productive and specific as possible. Most importantly, thank you for your feedback!

Last edit: 2012-05-30 11:11:32

Texas e-Sports Association -- http://www.tespa.org/

WArped United Kingdom. May 30 2012 10:18. Posts 4681

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I didn't manage to catch as much as I would have liked, but what I did see was a real professional, quality product. What was unique that more tournaments should consider is the overlays that were being switched periodically during the games, just giving small facts about each player, it was a nice touch,

Positronic May 30 2012 10:29. Posts 121

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I watched a large amount of the first day coverage, and a decent amount of the second day (apart from missing the final few games of the tournament). The sound issues on the first day were hilariously laughable, along with the frequently mentioned mechanics outfits. The production was excellent in terms of transitions and the crane operator was outstanding, it's really sad that a tournament like that didn't have every seat full (such is living in TX and being into SC2).

I liked the player Q&A panel the night before the tournament, although in general I think there are some questions that should just be put out of their misery in a tournament setting that still reared their ugly head. I liked most of the invites, although I was sad that none of the lesser known players were able to pull off an upset, that would have been really nice to see. That can't be attributed to the tournament itself though.

Last edit: 2012-05-30 10:31:16

algorithm0r Canada. May 30 2012 10:29. Posts 472

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Another subtle thing I liked was if Stream 1 was on a break but Stream 2 had a game 3 they were waiting to finish up they would quickly (very little down time) switch so both streams had the game.... BUT even better (the subtle part) on the redirected stream IT TOLD YOU that you were watching stream 2 through stream 1 to avoid confusion.

I feel the little things like this were so well planned that I have to give major props to Day[9], his team, and the sponsors Red Bull. More free stream tournaments please!

Natespank Canada. May 30 2012 10:37. Posts 448

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I think it was a big deal that the event was absent from the TL calendar until right before it began. I couldn't find a link to the TLPD page for it anywhere either.

Obviously, there were serious production issues in the beginning with lag and sound, but by the end I was really impressed by the video quality. Love Day9's casting.

When the camera showed a mostly empty venue it hurts how the event is perceived.

There was something boring about the event however. The player "storylines" were pretty absent except for Last Shadow, and as 2GD explained in today's GD show, the player storylines matter a ton. That's why we love idra.

The high quality of play is also hard to perceive without "character foils" who really bring out the difference in playing skill. Plus, with lower quality players you can have underdogs who you can secretly root for, despite the improbability of their winning. With everyone on the top level like that it's hard to see how good they really are. What if tournaments invited popular but unproven players on a regular basis? These mystery players could fill these roles great- say 1 per group?

Remember in OSL how they switch to player cams periodically to show them in action from their POV, and they use lots of camera zooms on the players? Also, hiding the production tab would be nice.

Last edit: 2012-05-30 10:39:13

JazzJackrabbit Canada. May 30 2012 10:40. Posts 632

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The recurring audio glitches were the probably the only problem for me. On both days and both streams there would always be this loud static noise popping up randomly.

Noam Israel. May 30 2012 10:42. Posts 1588

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I liked the fast facts although they got repetitive fairly quickly when the same players were playing, so consider including more next time.
I really like the TLPD stats, but make sure you mention if its Intl. or Korean TLPD please.
The almost instant replay files on the website, together with very detailed stats were also great. Consider using these stats on stream as well (MC's APM was XXX last series, compared to XXX average or something else more interesting)

I would also consider scrapping the 3rd place match. There is nothing wrong with having the same prize to both players that lost in the SF and keeping the excitement level growing as the tournament progresses.

And I know it is not the style you wanted, but please consider qualifiers next time. There is just less competitive interest in an invitational tournament and you will notice that all the major tournament series from 2011 scrapped their invitationals.
A few spots for regional qualifiers would lessen the hate some invited players got.

Last edit: 2012-05-30 10:44:39

Nokshalees United States. May 30 2012 11:09. Posts 120

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Host a tournament in houston please.

MKP/MVP/Kas/ThorZaiN/Jinro/ForGG | I MAEK HAE BYUNG. | #terranprideworldwide

Kamwah United Kingdom. May 30 2012 11:16. Posts 724

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The whole thing was great except the streams were terrible. Out of sync and laggy.

Learn to count with CatsPajamas!

vesicular United States. May 30 2012 11:17. Posts 920

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Whoever was responsible for the camera work and production values needs a raise. They were really well done. It was one of the more "pro" events I've seen. Even the stream was wonderful quality. I also loved how there were multiple streams, and how each match had only brief pauses in between (something the Proleague, with its wonderful production values, could learn from).

The things I would change/add may seem minor but may be valuable. I often wonder why the crowd is not mic'd into the mix. You could only hear the loudest crowd reactions, but much like real sporting events have a semblance of what it feels like to "be there" I think this would greatly help increase the tension as well as the fun. Perhaps the crowd was actually this quiet, but the point stands.

Also going back to Proleague, I do like that they have the music still playing (turned down a tad) during the game, and their zoom-ins on players during intense parts of the match also adds to the overal production. That's something that could be added here as well.

Other than that, just keep it up. To me having good production values and reducing technical glitches is what makes or breaks an event. The casters and the players are usually the same so the rest is what separates the good events from the mediocre. I've watched many tournies with good games, but sub-par production and it really tempers the excitement to watch the games. This one though is now on my radar as a must-watch just because it was so well done.

BathTubNZ New Zealand. May 30 2012 12:00. Posts 2189

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The burst static that was never fixed needs sorting. I understand not everyone got it, but I saw plenty of others commenting on it in stream chat, and on reddit there were multiple threads created. So the audio production needs a real step up.

Apollo_Shards May 30 2012 12:05. Posts 1078

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Overall it was a pretty good tournament with good casters, nice production value, and for the most part, excellent players.

Next time I suggest putting in at least a few qualifiers since there is more of a story line, have the sound working before it starts, and finding a better time to hold it (memorial day weekend when it was so nice outside I think really hurt the views).

Other than that it was excellent!

TSL.Polt, ForGG, Liquid'HerO, FXOBoSS, Naniwa, Quantic, MorroW, and Sase fan

tofubeans United States. May 30 2012 12:07. Posts 766

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still would like to see what happened in the last few minutes of the final game

Brutaxilos United States. May 30 2012 12:11. Posts 866

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One thing that I didn't particularly like was the offtime. Since this tournament WAS sponsored solely by Red Bull, there was no need for commercials. So I ended up leaving the stream running on in the background with the sound on while trying to do some other work. Because I'm not particularly fond of that sort of music it got a bit irritating. One possible solution is to have like a timer or something during the offtime so that we could know when to return to the stream (or unmute it). Another is perhaps to have some notification system to tell the people when to return.

I sorta doubt that anyone else is really too affected by this as most events need to have commercials. I personally don't mind it too much but I just tried to find some sort of feedback.

Antithesis Germany. May 30 2012 12:14. Posts 757

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I didn't catch everything, but whenever I tuned in it looked pretty good and professional.

Great players, nice casters and interviews, professional setup and production value, nice atmosphere. Thumbs up.

Last edit: 2012-05-30 12:15:36

Mutation complete.

Dahkar United States. May 30 2012 12:27. Posts 13

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One thing I wanted to mention about the live event was you couldn't see the production tabs for all of the players on the main screen(only the bottom)! Other than that, fantastic event!

Muffinman53 May 30 2012 12:31. Posts 506

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The statistics information they put together is absolutely amazing.

bLecK Australia. May 30 2012 13:21. Posts 572

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Though I only watched a handful of matchups because of an appalling timezone discrepancy, I thoroughly enjoyed the content that I saw. The stream was great quality, the casting team were incredible, and the line-up was just astounding. The only real issue I had was some stream lag during the finals, though its understandable as I believe there were >20k viewers or something along those lines.

Son Na Eun | Lee Min Jung /Suzy/Taeyeon/Eunji/Park NaRae

ThE_OsToJiY Canada. May 30 2012 13:26. Posts 1156

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BTW this was from a behind the scenes perspective the best staffed event I've seen. Really awesome production team(s) and despite some hiccoughs did an awesome job. There were 58 people setting up the place the day before and it really felt very professional. <3

@ostojiy

JingleHell United States. May 30 2012 13:29. Posts 11262

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Have advertised time for the doors to open match reality. Texas is kind of warm, standing outside melting for an hour sucks.

There were a few minor glitches live, the lights/fog machines caused some washing out of the screens, especially the purple and orange ones made recognizing certain colors a disaster. The projector screen in the middle wasn't at the right distance on Day1, although that got sorted for Day2. Was really annoying having the top and bottom cut off of the cast.

Audio levels went batshit at the venue sometimes, in particular if they were swapping to the secondary games of a set after one series concluded, volume would oscillate up and down.

Don't know how much of this was venue related, but food and drink on-site were insanely priced, even for a big event. Lucky for us, and unlucky for them, Which Wich was just down the road, poor bastards probably hated us.

Meet and greet Friday really could have been indoors, nobody would have complained.

Ret is a sexy beast.

Last edit: 2012-05-30 13:30:55

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