CAGcast #187: Wombat's Hammer Hands Create a Mass Effect - Live

[CheapyD]

10327[/IMG-R]Christina Norman, BioWare's Lead Gameplay Designer for Mass Effect 2 joins us on this live CAGcast. There's also a sprinkling of MAG and Darksiders talk, along with game shopping news, your questions and comments from the phone, chat room, CAGbag (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71382) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/cheapyd) and oh so much more!

96
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[Microshock]

Awesome, will you still answer Cagbag questions or no?

[Nebenator]

Is it still going to be with you, Wombat and Ship? Because last time you had some connection and voice quality issues when you had more than two people at once. Or are you going to test it earlier?

[usickenme]

Mass Effect 2 has got to be the most overexposed game in years.

[retromufc]

Mass Effect 2 has got to be the most overexposed game in years.

Since Halo 3 or halo ODST you mean.

I am looking forward to this, I love live cagcasts!

[Viper139]

After alot of googling I think thats about 1:30PM GMT, hopfully lol

[Darknyss]

Mass Effect 2 has got to be the most overexposed game in years.
Eh, I don't really see it as being that much more talked about than any other blockbuster titles released this gen. The problem is whenever someone tries to talk about it they spend half the time fumbling over how to describe it without giving away spoilers or figuring out what details BioWare already released. It's pretty annoying.

I'll likely skip this 'cast since live shows aren't really my cup of tea, but IMO you guys should ask her when it's coming for PS3!

[Nathan_Sama]

I hope we get details on Ship's "Makeout Session" lol

[usickenme]

Eh, I don't really see it as being that much more talked about than any other blockbuster titles released this gen. !

Incorrect. If you have listened to any amount of gaming podcasts in the past few weeks, Mass Effect people have been on nearly every big one. Didn't happen with Halo 3 or any other game in recent memory. I guess I have a little ME2 fatigue.

Props to Cheapy and Wombat for getting a quality guest. Too bad it came after everyone else.

[ChrisMav]

After alot of googling I think thats about 1:30PM GMT, hopfully lol

1.30am I presume?

[Fjordson]

Mass Effect 2 has got to be the most overexposed game in years.
At least it's a game that deserves it.

Very excited for tonight. Can't get enough of ME 2.

[MSUHitman]

Why do the dlc armors not have toggleable helmets?!!

^ That's supposed to be in all caps but the forum software doesn't allow it.

[MSUHitman]

Here's a more constructive question:
When developers say they take user feedback in improving the sequel, do they only look at their own forums, or will they go out to independent sites like CAG, or comments from sites that review the game like IGN/Gamespot or blogs like Kotaku/Destructoid?

[strife18]

Damn, I won't be able to make this one. oh well.. maybe next time

[ihih]

After how many hours does it start and how can I listen to it ?

[CaptainJoel]

Are Ship's makeout skills goinng to be discussed? If so, COUNT ME IN!!!

[Sgt Barone]

Awesome! I'll be tuning in.

[aerotive]

Think I will have to put this one in the backlog to avoid any possible spoilers.

[Kezmer]

so much ME2 talk I feel I don't need to play any of it, I just listen to podcasts and get the idea lol.

[reddjoey]

Why do the dlc armors not have toggleable helmets?!!

^ That's supposed to be in all caps but the forum software doesn't allow it.

I think you mean to ask:

"Why was the design decision made to make the DLC Armors one piece of art instead of separate pieces that could be toggled on and off?"

They answered your question on day two.

My question is:

With ME2 taking around 2 -3 years and the launching of a new IP (DA:O) to support will they be looking at finishing up the ME trilogy faster?

[adriley313]

When is the chat room gonna open.

[bigsick]

How do you get to the chat room

[gunm]

Great job landing the interview!

But yes, I haven't even touched ME2, so please please no spoilers.

BTW, there's still apparently about 45min left until the show starts as I type this.

[adriley313]

yes im waiting for CHeapyD to post the link for the chat room on here or Twitter

[RchrdJ]

Also awaiting the chatroom link. I hope Wombat makes sure to add a bunch of obscure Simpsons references throughout the cast.

[MannishBoy]

Incorrect. If you have listened to any amount of gaming podcasts in the past few weeks, Mass Effect people have been on nearly every big one. Didn't happen with Halo 3 or any other game in recent memory. I guess I have a little ME2 fatigue.

Props to Cheapy and Wombat for getting a quality guest. Too bad it came after everyone else.

Turn 10 guys did a lot of gamer media as well as car media leading up to Forza 3.

Both games are great and both are things I'm interested in, so no problem for me :)

[BoneMonkey80]

is it up now i can't hear anything?

[adriley313]

It doesn't start til 8:30

[reddjoey]

Chat's up

[RchrdJ]

Chatroom is live. Just go to the blog talk radio link where the show is.

[Nathan_Sama]

O SNAP I WAS ON THE show!
did I suck it up? i was so nervous.

[BoneMonkey80]

loving the show you guys rock!

[Alex2290]

I listened in for about half an hour.. cool show.

One question I had.. Should I pick up ME2 if I've never play ME1?

[Fjordson]

Just pick up ME 1 for cheap, it's worth a playthrough and makes ME 2 all that much better.

Anyways, loved the show guys. The audio quality was pretty rough at a couple spots, and some of the calls were...odd, to say the least, but a cool episode nonetheless. Christina and ME 2 are both awesome.

[CheapyD]

Show is now available via iTunes, download, etc... Info in 1st post.

[KingBroly]

That's a really long show title

[Droogs]

I really hope there are not live cagcasts anymore. I just listened to the first 5 minutes of the recording and it sounds like everybody is either talking while under water or talking through fans.

Hopefully the horrible quality won't last through the entire episode.

[F8X]

audio quality is really bad :(

[Blackout]

The show was OK. I really enjoyed the interview. Christina was great. Everything else sucked though.

The sound quality was garbage, as were the callers (except Thomas). Please don't do another live show for a long time. The sound quality is always poor and the callers are extremely dumb. Seriously, callers plugging themselves, "friends", and their websites? Cheapy, you should have hanged up on those clowns immediately.

[FrankCastleAZ]

Hated the crap audio quality, but what can you do, sometimes it happens.
Loved the interview, fantastic job and Christina was fantastic!

The sound quality was garbage, as were the callers (except Thomas). Please don't do another live show for a long time. The sound quality is always poor and the callers are extremely dumb. Seriously, callers plugging themselves, "friends", and their websites? Cheapy, you should have hanged up on those clowns immediately.

I wasn't garbage. :-P
Sure I made a lame joke on David Jaffe but t least I didn't plug/shoutout. Then again, I couldn't hear the crew so I just got off the phone so I wouldn't be wasting time.

-FrankCastleAZ

[Blackout]

Hated the crap audio quality, but what can you do, sometimes it happens.
Loved the interview, fantastic job and Christina was fantastic!



I wasn't garbage. :-P
Sure I made a lame joke on David Jaffe but t least I didn't plug/shoutout. Then again, I couldn't hear the crew so I just got off the phone so I wouldn't be wasting time.

-FrankCastleAZ

Haha. I forgot about you Frank. I guess all the plugging put a stain on the normal callers. You were cool. I liked your joke. :lol:

[LiK]

she was a great guest. the fact that she's a CAGcast listener was pretty awesome. i just wish Cheapy or Wombat asked her some of my burning questions! but noooo....

[spineynorman]

This is a pretty rough listen. Couldn't you still record yourselves separately and then assemble them later even while doing the live broadcast? I know that means more work for Cheapy, but the results would be a lot better.

Great show as always guys.

[Fjordson]

The show was OK. I really enjoyed the interview. Christina was great. Everything else sucked though.

The sound quality was garbage, as were the callers (except Thomas)

:lol: Thomas was awesome.

[Cursor]

I've got to say despite the great interview, this was the weakest CAGcast in a long time. The audio platform is broken. Shipwreck was subdued and Wombat was fussy in a toddler kind of way and on a countdown to get his ass in bed. I don't know what got into Cheapy when he let the "shout out" caller go on and on without cutting him off. It reminds me of the "man on the street" guy from the local news giving his microphone to the jackass behind him saying "hi" to his mother. Cheapy is supposed to be an assho...er... renegade, right? This was a perfect opportunity.

Anyway, stop with the live CAGcasts, they just don't work. Please. I know it's easier for you, but it's not about you. It's about the listeners.

Cheapy, good luck with the move. Did you have to pay key money? That practice would be a great "your man in Japan" topic as it's pretty much extortion to keep you from moving out. Ever.

[Doomtime]

The show was OK. I really enjoyed the interview. Christina was great. Everything else sucked though.

The sound quality was garbage, as were the callers (except Thomas). Please don't do another live show for a long time. The sound quality is always poor and the callers are extremely dumb. Seriously, callers plugging themselves, "friends", and their websites? Cheapy, you should have hanged up on those clowns immediately.
Agreed, terrible callers, except for a select few. Plug,plug,plug.

[FrankCastleAZ]

Also had to note-

I was outside having a smoke already laughing at the "Shout out to Kankles" comment when Wombat said "We gotta give a shout out to Bulbasaur".
That put me over the edge laughing.
I'm fucking busting out laughing/choking prolly making my neighbors wonder WTF is wrong with this guy when then Cheapy says my area code and asks if I'm on the line.

Best laugh of the day at the worst time.

I love you fuckers.

-FrankCastleAZ

[McWeen]

Did a boat actually crash and force you guys to record under the ocean?

[bsesb2003]

Wow, actually some gaming talk LOL - great guest! Thanks!

[kPod]

Unlistenable due to audio quality. A conference call is more bearable than this. Dx

[SpazX]

Damn, a bit too choppy (and I'm only like 15 mins in now). I don't remember the last live show being nearly this bad. I blame shipwreck.

[Wombat]

As someone who grew up on AM talk radio, I don't think it sounds as awful as some make it out to be. But then again people on forums have never overeacted ever in the history of the internet, so I must be wrong.

[Nightskyre]

Man, I'm really bummed by the audio quality of this show. I realize it's because it's a live show, but honestly, I could barely listen to it. I only stuck on because I made a comment on last week's show I was hoping might get brought up.

It was really hard to listen - and usually the production quality is excellent. Is there any way you can double/triple end the live show too and just put the calls into it from the live feed?

Weird how the quality cleaned up when taking a call. That was odd.

[Falion]

My God... this week's CAGcast is an audio boat crash!

[firehawk12]

As someone who grew up on AM talk radio, I don't think it sounds as awful as some make it out to be. But then again people on forums have never overeacted ever in the history of the internet, so I must be wrong.

Love the show and all that, but really, this episode sounded like a cellphone conversation where one dude was going through a series of tunnels.

It was fine last time though, so it must be a bandwidth issue somewhere.

Edit: Star Trek Online is decent, but like any MMO, starts feeling like a grind pretty fast.

[Microshock]

Pretty good show until you got to me. Now I always love my name being mentioned but I hate when I can't respond back during your statements.

If I were to look at CheapyD's gamerscore versus his trophies like he did to me, his gamerscore would be at least 10x the amount, but I don't label him a 360 fanboy do i? I don't go out of my way for trophies, i've had my ps3 for 2 years and they've naturally accumulated.

I was just pointing out the fact that Shipwreck likes to review so much crap out but when it comes to showcasing great PS3 exclusives, there's always an excuse. I don't care that you review multiplatforms on the 360, just have some more support for the PS3 owners on this site that want to hear your take on the newest exclusives. Why is UC2 automatically unreviewable because it came late for you?

And yeah, the fact that other reviewers don't write they dont finish the game doesn't make it alright for you. You don't have deadlines, you don't need to put it up in a timely manner because 80 other reviews went up before you. People don't come to your reviews to see a first look, but rather to see your opinion. Remember that next time.

I remember 2 years ago, when I said that GFW could be a great system, you called me a Microsoft fanboy. The irony right? Stop with your random labeling and just look at the facts. You've reviewed 1-3 exclusives for the PS3 in the course of a year or two. That's wrong.

[gorgo]

Interesting CagCast, the interview was really cool.

Downside... whatever you did for audio on this, please NEVER AGAIN. It was killing my ears.

Regarding the Ship-slam: I really appreciate what Ship brings to the podcast; especially since he's the only one who actually researches and reviews games, you slackers ;)

I consider Ship an integral part of the cast, esp. since his old podcast is dead. In fact, you should bring back. Mrs. Ship as a guest once in a while.

[Morbid]

Unlistenable. If you guys are too busy/lazy to do a regular show, then don't do one and wait until the next week. I would rather wait an extra week than miss a show because of poor audio quality. No more live shows please!

[jeffpm]

Please find a way to get some decent audio quality on these live shows. So many podcasts are able to do it, it can't be that hard. I don't think I'll be able to listen to any more of these live shows if something doesn't change.

[Wombat]

Does anyone have anything to say about the show? We get it the live quality wasn't very good. No one cares if you are 5th or 6th person to make the same comment. Your posts about it are unreadable. If you are too lazy to write something constructive maybe you should come back next week with something better to say.

[Droogs]

Does anyone have anything to say about the show? We get it the live quality wasn't very good. No one cares if you are 5th or 6th person to make the same comment. Your posts about it are unreadable. If you are too lazy to write something constructive maybe you should come back next week with something better to say.

There should be more female guests that are willing to have sex with wombat. It really builds up his self esteem.

[KingBroly]

That was the most awkward and best part of the show. I still don't fully understand her side on the whole DLC issue. Sure she doesn't like that people got the DLC for free, but how does she feel about those that can't/won't get all that DLC either through their geographic location or economic status? Pre-order in-game content bonuses are bullshit, especially when they nickel-and-dime a new item out to about 10 different stores.

[rogueweapon]

the replay sounds like you guys are underwater :( . Are the cagcast callers retarded? Hey Cheapy you really are the King of the Stupids. Here is a killer Boat Crash if you guys haven't seen this before.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5t-z6KdXvA

[LiK]

Does anyone have anything to say about the show? We get it the live quality wasn't very good. No one cares if you are 5th or 6th person to make the same comment. Your posts about it are unreadable. If you are too lazy to write something constructive maybe you should come back next week with something better to say.

i love the live shows but i think Cheapy should forget live callers. just get your questions or comments from the chatroom instead. the live calls are a HUGE waste of time. no offense to my fellow CAGs who've called in but most of your calls are just nonsense.

btw, there were some obnoxious spammers in the chatroom and Cheapy did nothing about them. he muted like 2 guys but ignored the other dummies.

[butaneko]

As someone who grew up on AM talk radio, I don't think it sounds as awful as some make it out to be. But then again people on forums have never overeacted ever in the history of the internet, so I must be wrong.

How much did you listen to? It varies between totally fine and really lousy (listen from 5:30 - 6mins).

Mark me down as audio quality complainer #7. But for every person that complains there are 1,000 listeners that thought about it and didn't complain. That's 7,000 people!! Personally I thought it sounded like you were gargling monkey sperm, so 1,000 other people thought that too.

Love the show!

[meager]

I don't think there's anything wrong with reviewing a game without finishing it. An ending could great, but it wouldn't matter if no one would want to play 15 hours of crap to get to it. Conversely, I've not known reviewers to dock their score significantly because a good game has a crappy ending. (Or in some cases, where a game just sorta stops ... ie Halo 2, GOW2...) On a five point scale that Shipwreck uses, how bad can the ending be that it would justify a 20% score difference?

Speaking of The Shipwreck, I think he needs some representation in your logo when he's on your show. May I suggest:
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/7886/newcagcast01.jpg

[Deefuzz]

The conversation with Christina Norman was fantastic. I thought it was very well done and informative. Hearing the insight from someone involved with the game was interesting and I thought that Wombat had excellent questions for her (Cheapy also picked out some good ones from chat). Well done with all of that guys, I was listening at work and it really made me want to go home and play more Mass Effect 2.

For live shows I think it is more beneficial to have a guest on like Christina and field topics/questions from a chatroom. No offense to anyone here who called in, but I feel that usually the calls seem to disrupt the flow of the show. Even if there isn't a guest on maybe you guys could consider trying a live show where you only field questions from a chatroom rather than phone calls?

Anyways thanks for a great show guys.

[Evil Haole]

Not a big fan of the live shows. The sound quality is so bad and the callers bring nothing to the show.

[Ultramontane]

eef... if a recorded live show sounds like that again, don't even bother to post it. Awful playback, I hope it sounded better live.

[Curufinwe]

I remember 2 years ago, when I said that GFW could be a great system, you called me a Microsoft fanboy. The irony right? Stop with your random labeling and just look at the facts. You've reviewed 1-3 exclusives for the PS3 in the course of a year or two. That's wrong.

I wouldn't say it's wrong, but it is kind of odd.

[shiftdeleted]

Whoa.. this lady is crazy... Kill Ship?? no way!

M/K/F-- you always have Suicide, or Polygamy!

[MIGGO]

Does anyone have anything to say about the show? We get it the live quality wasn't very good. No one cares if you are 5th or 6th person to make the same comment. Your posts about it are unreadable. If you are too lazy to write something constructive maybe you should come back next week with something better to say.

C'mon, now. It's just people venting out their disappointment especially when the last two live CAGcasts didn't have the underwater effect. Was it the inclusion of Shipwreck that screwed with the system?

I almost quit listening after fifteen minutes, but I'm glad I stuck around. The interview was pretty great and found it funny that Christina came in loud and clear. Fun interview, and I just barely started playing the first Mass Effect, so I didn't really have a point of reference regarding the things in the sequel.

I want to know how you and Cheapy view the members of the CAG community. A majority of your calls always seem to be from idiots who can't form a simple sentence or just plug their podcasts/sites (btw, visit Player's Pulse (http://playerspulse.tumblr.com/) today!). You got members in your blog section posting pictures of their Japanese dolls wearing lingerie and writing about masturbating into condoms because they can't get a chick.

Is there a gas leak in here?

[KillingMachine]

Christina was great! The segment with her was one of the best and most interesting on the CAGcast in a long time. This is the type of stuff I'd love to see more of in the future.

[spineynorman]

Since Wombat says we can't mention that the sound quality made the show almost unlistenable, I'll post some other comments:

The interview was great! Very interesting.
The calls were pretty awful overall and it seemed that Cheapy was very impatient with the callers. I say ditch the calls. It's a lot better when the two or three of you can pace the show yourselves and pick and choose useful questions to read on the air. Shout-outs and awkward attempts at humor aren't fun to listen to.
Wombat seemed disinterested during the show. He seems to sit back and not say much when Shipwreck is on.

The CAGCast is my favorite podcast on any topic and I appreciate what you guys do.

[Nathan_Sama]

Well, I'm sorry for doing that shout-out.
She was listening too, and she IM'd me to have me give her a shout-out. I was really nervous.

[Blackout]

Does anyone have anything to say about the show? We get it the live quality wasn't very good. No one cares if you are 5th or 6th person to make the same comment. Your posts about it are unreadable. If you are too lazy to write something constructive maybe you should come back next week with something better to say.

You guys get great feedback every week. Just chalk this one up as a shitty show and call it a day. Besides the interview there was nothing else good to mention. The live shows don't work.

[Sgt Barone]

The live shows gotta go. bad sound quality and the callers brought nothing good to the table, no offense to my fellow CAG's, but it just wasn't up to par with the past few shows.

[Kuromimi]

Great show guys! The interview was good. You guys should do more of them. The sound quality wasn't good but I did hear Wombat typing so it wasn't horrible. Keep up the good work!

[Doomtime]

Pretty good show until you got to me. Now I always love my name being mentioned but I hate when I can't respond back during your statements.

If I were to look at CheapyD's gamerscore versus his trophies like he did to me, his gamerscore would be at least 10x the amount, but I don't label him a 360 fanboy do i? I don't go out of my way for trophies, i've had my ps3 for 2 years and they've naturally accumulated.

I was just pointing out the fact that Shipwreck likes to review so much crap out but when it comes to showcasing great PS3 exclusives, there's always an excuse. I don't care that you review multiplatforms on the 360, just have some more support for the PS3 owners on this site that want to hear your take on the newest exclusives. Why is UC2 automatically unreviewable because it came late for you?

And yeah, the fact that other reviewers don't write they dont finish the game doesn't make it alright for you. You don't have deadlines, you don't need to put it up in a timely manner because 80 other reviews went up before you. People don't come to your reviews to see a first look, but rather to see your opinion. Remember that next time.

I remember 2 years ago, when I said that GFW could be a great system, you called me a Microsoft fanboy. The irony right? Stop with your random labeling and just look at the facts. You've reviewed 1-3 exclusives for the PS3 in the course of a year or two. That's wrong.

Why are you bitching about how many PS3 exclusives Ship reviews? It shouldn't even matter. The fact that Shipwreck can review that many games is great for the site.
There's vagisil available on amazon for around $18. If you order 2 boxes, you can get super saver shipping. Maybe that will help you out with your problem.

As for the show, the interview was excellent. The audio quality didn't bother me too much, but what did bother me were the lame callers. I agree with what Lik said. Maybe it would be better to pull questions from the chatroom instead of having people call in. There were some good calls, but for every good call there would be 3 bad ones.

Good show guys, good luck with the move Cheapy.

[Microshock]

Why are you bitching about how many PS3 exclusives Ship reviews? It shouldn't even matter. The fact that Shipwreck can review that many games is great for the site.
There's vagisil available on amazon for around $18. If you order 2 boxes, you can get super saver shipping. Maybe that will help you out with your problem.

As for the show, the interview was excellent. The audio quality didn't bother me too much, but what did bother me were the lame callers. I agree with what Lik said. Maybe it would be better to pull questions from the chatroom instead of having people call in. There were some good calls, but for every good call there would be 3 bad ones.

Good show guys, good luck with the move Cheapy.

Yeah it helps you out, since obviously the Xbox is your dominant platform. Resorting to 3rd grader jokes doesn't make you funny or cool here, maybe on another forum?

Wanting Ship to review more PS3 exclusives will help the site out too, maybe you should take some of that vagisil you ordered for me if you're bitching about what i want

[Doomtime]

Yeah it helps you out, since obviously the Xbox is your dominant platform. Resorting to 3rd grader jokes doesn't make you funny or cool here, maybe on another forum?

Wanting Ship to review more PS3 exclusives will help the site out too, maybe you should take some of that vagisil you ordered for me if you're bitching about what i want

There, I updated my profile just for you. Never added my PSN on here. Are you done being butthurt now?

[chocoblock]

I'm a huge fan of the cagcast and have never missed an episode but this week i could barely make it past 10 minutes. I personally don't find the live shows to bad but if your not going to give them the regular post production then don't bother.

[Microshock]

Nice job adding your PSN, no one ever asked you to? I guess asking for Ship to review more of a certain platform's games is..being butthurt.

The internet is great!

[ItchyD]

Cheapy you should be ashamed of yourself for letting this episode go out in this condition. Isn't CAG all you do for a living? I guarantee the audio problem can be solved with money. Probably if you spent what you spent on weed last time you came to the states on a new dedicated skype server there would never be another problem with the audio on the show. If that doesn't solve the problem do the 2 hours of work required to research what you need and get it solved.

I actually listened to the whole episode because I'm a huge Bioware fan. This was your second best interview ever (best was the guy who used to own a game store) it was a real shame that you couldn't be bothered to troubleshoot the audio problems ahead of time.

[Achuba Nanoia]

An excellent show this week! Thanks a bunch for the interview with Chistina! I would give it a 10, but the audio quality is pretty terrible, so a 9 is in order.

Please let there be a show next week with Boatcrash and Wombat!

[Doomtime]

Nice job adding your PSN, no one ever asked you to? I guess asking for Ship to review more of a certain platform's games is..being butthurt.

The internet is great!
Well you said, "the xbox is your dominant platform." Just showing you that I play both equally and you don't see me or anyone else whining about what's being reviewed by Shipwreck. So there you have it.

[Terabytes]

Speaking of The Shipwreck, I think he needs some representation in your logo when he's on your show. May I suggest:
http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/7886/newcagcast01.jpg

May I suggest:
http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz356/terabyteslynx/shitwreck.png

just kidding, shipwrecks a fine addition. bad quality audio today :(

[skadave]

I listen to about 8 video game podcasts and the majority of the talk over the past two weeks has been Mass Effect 2. I guess there really isn't much more to talk about, star trek online, capcom vs whatever, MAG, all meh in my book.

[ianoid]

Much of the podcast sounds like it was recorded underwater.

The area codes of the callers are mostly from backwoods states and places, where there is nothing better to do than sit by your computer at weird hours. You got one 516 caller and he was an ass. Seriously, the live show callers should be nixed or screened. I like the banter between you guys, but the lame callers hurt the cause.

The planned callers are generally pretty good, like the guys from the previous show. I haven't listened to the entire current show yet, so I can't comment on the Bioware call.

[Z_meista]

The interview was good. Too bad the audio quality was fucking messed up.

[newslowsad]

Need to listen to the last half hour of the show. I got through the first hour at work this morning and then my iPod died. I did hear the interview though, which was very good.

Ship and Wom should definitely do a show for next week though.

[BigBizzee]

I agree with everyone else about the live callers. They are awful. I have yet to hear one caller from ANY live CagCast say or ask something interesting. They bring the entire show down, and even the jokes made towards these callers doesn't make up for their ignorance and inability to construct quality conversation.

If you ask me, the callers were a bigger problem than the poor audio. PLEASE get rid of the live callers.

HOWEVER - I really do enjoy the interviews, and I think the chat question method worked VERY well. I can definitely see a live show working in that way. You guys could pick and choose the quality questions, AND it would eliminate the "shout outs".

Give it a thought CHEAPY!!!!

[Energy Penguin]

Hey 'cast,
Great show, well content-wise anyway. I really enjoyed the interview with Christina Norman. Good get, Wombat. I agree that the scanning is the worst part of Mass Effect 2, but I can see Christina's point, as well. When I am scanning I usually put on the 'cast or stern and listen while I chill out and scan for 30 mins or so, then back to yakity yakity shooty shooty bangy bangy.
Anyway thanks guys, keep up the good work

[repete]

cool

[pelf21]

I dont have a problem with shipwreck not finishing a game before he reviews it....atleast he tells you up front about it.....Its not like he's getting paid to do this or anything......

my biggest problem with the live shows are the callers.......there.the.worst.

[Curufinwe]

HOWEVER - I really do enjoy the interviews, and I think the chat question method worked VERY well. I can definitely see a live show working in that way. You guys could pick and choose the quality questions, AND it would eliminate the "shout outs".

Give it a thought CHEAPY!!!!

Listen to this guy, Cheapy, he's 100% right about dumping live callers.

[drfrielgood]

I have zero interest in Mass Effect 2, but I really enjoyed the interview. It was nice to listen to someone that could form coherent sentences, unlike every single caller.

Not sure I really understand the point of the live shows. Poor audio quality and hillbilly callers just drag the show down. I would recommend more frequent guest interviews during CAGcasts and ditch the live show. The questions from the chat aren't really needed if the CAG community is able to come up with some good questions beforehand.

[killthemall4444]

Does anyone have anything to say about the show? We get it the live quality wasn't very good. No one cares if you are 5th or 6th person to make the same comment. Your posts about it are unreadable. If you are too lazy to write something constructive maybe you should come back next week with something better to say.
The fact that show was practically impossible to hear half the time seems like perfectly reasonable criticism to me that needs to be brought up often.

Seeing as how the awful audio quality was far and away the worst aspect of this CAGCAST it just makes sense that a whole lot of people are going to bring it up. Besides the audio and mostly crappy callers it seemed like a decent cagcast but it pales in comparison to a proper cagcast that has good audio quality 100% of the time. Of all the possible complaints that can be thrown at a podcast bad audio quality is just about the most damning one.

I suffered through this weeks CAGCAST despite that glaring audio issue. That's how much I enjoy listening to you guys. But I don't think users are asking too much when all they want is a CAGCAST with decent audio quality.

[chewy35]

Just want to say I'm a big fan of the show, love you cheapy, love the reviews ship and Wombat: GO HUG YOURSELF!

[triforcer]

best cagcast recorded underwater.

[Henrikl]

The interview part was really good. Bummer 'bout the sound this time though. If you can't fix that, I'd rather have a pre-recorded show. Otherwise, great show as usual.

[Henrikl]

Oh yeah, one more thing, weed out the wankers.

[ChernobylCow]

Great interview. It was definitely worth listening through despite the warbled-y sound.

Cheapy, you should join up with some of us for MAG! We'll all run around and die real fast. Bring the MG forget that Ak-47

[ChaoticClimax]

I love listening to Cheapy, Wombat and especially Shipwreck, your collective insights on games are great, but these live shows are terrible. It's not because of you guys though, it is a combination or the poor audio quality and retarded callers, but more the callers. That last 5 minutes were embarrassing, not one of those idiots had a question. I literally sat here listening to this getting angry at how disrespectful people were being to your live show. I had a live show on cable access a few years back and we screened our calls to ensure bullshit like that didn't happen with shout outs. Drop the call immediately if they were wasting our time.

Anyways, the interview with the BioWare broad was great and insightful. I've played through Mass Effect 2 and it was stellar, but the mining was tedious. It wasn't game-breaking bad, but it wasn't fun. One thing that really stood out to me was when she said she had to watch TV or something while mining. Games should be fun and not a chore, the minute you have to do something else while playing YOUR OWN GAME is the minute you need to figure out how to fix it and make it not boring.

[stevew2607]

Long time listening first time poster. Please please please fix the sound. You guys do a great podcast, but this one was rough. It was worth toughing out however. I will also second many of the sentiments about the callers, why do these people call in? If you are going to call in please say something intelligent and try thinking about what you want to say before you call. Nobody wants to here stutter making shouts over the phone.

Still great show guys and keep it up!!! :).

[TheFreshPrince]

Wow.

Does BlogTalkRadio have an IQ cap for the chat room? Callers with shoutouts and plugs, callers who 'accidently' pressed the button...I believe only ONE legitimate question was asked. Do people really not understand what 'call to ask a question' means?

Overall I really enjoyed the show, in spite of the audio quality, but the live listeners flat out suck.

[GLOCKGLOCK]

I missed the live show and after listening to it after the fact I'm glad I did. With the poor audio quality, repeat callers, shout outs, website plugs, h-bomb, & PS3 fanboys the ability to fast forward was key to making it through this one. That said, the Mass Effect 2 interview was the lone highlight.

Maybe it is time to go back to the drawing board with the live show, especially the live calls. At least try to setup a way to screen calls or have pre approved people call in. The majority of the callers have no point and just ramble on despite your attempts to get a question out of them. Take Stern's attitude towards calls, get on and make your point immediately or drop the call. If someone wants to do shout outs, plug websites or wander aimlessly just hang up.

[usickenme]

There is a reason that radio shows have topics. They don't simply say "call up and just say random shit".

Keep that in mind, and keep the callers on the topic or shut them off.

[easper]

Sound was rough, but worth it. Anyone here surprised that technology doesn't always work the way you want it to?

Also wanted to let you guys know that the GoDaddy domain code appears to no longer be for $6.95 domains. I used it last year to renew a domain and it was $6.95, but I renewed with the code again last week and it was $7.95-ish. It looks like GD is raising prices all around, so I wasn't surprised. I just wanted to let you know. I assume the price hike is the same for new domains, but I can't confirm it. Maybe someone else can?

[stonefry]

I have listened to every single CAGcast including all live shows for the last couple of years. I love all three of you guys and look forward to a new show every week. Wombat's post in this thread complaining about people upset about the audio quality actually offended me. I realize that the audio situation was unforeseeable since you used the same service as last time, but that's no reason for us to sugar coat the response. I actually stopped listening to the show after 15 minutes because the sound was really annoying me. After reading some comments here, I plan to resume listening since the interview sounds interesting. It is unfortunate that the criticism isn't very constructive as nobody knows how to fix the problem or why it was so bad; but if there were only one or two complaints in the thread, you guys might not have known just how upset the community was about it.

I also would like to submit my vote for not having live callers. As a former idiotic caller myself, I can say that they are mostly worthless. Maybe a better idea would be to have some of the more well know cags call in for an interview; or just to chit-chat. I have enjoyed these conversations in the past. Lacking a call screener, I don't think there is a good way to weed out the morons.

I realize that it's a welcome break for you guys to do a live show once in a while, but I don't think that you should have to lower your standards so much to do so. Still looking forward to the next show. Unless it's just Wombat and Shipwreck, cause those guys are fucking a-holes ;).

[saunderscowie]

I almost stopped listening a few times due to such poor audio quality.. ah frustrating!

[Wombat]

I have listened to every single CAGcast including all live shows for the last couple of years. I love all three of you guys and look forward to a new show every week. Wombat's post in this thread complaining about people upset about the audio quality actually offended me. I realize that the audio situation was unforeseeable since you used the same service as last time, but that's no reason for us to sugar coat the response. I actually stopped listening to the show after 15 minutes because the sound was really annoying me. After reading some comments here, I plan to resume listening since the interview sounds interesting. It is unfortunate that the criticism isn't very constructive as nobody knows how to fix the problem or why it was so bad; but if there were only one or two complaints in the thread, you guys might not have known just how upset the community was about it.

I also would like to submit my vote for not having live callers. As a former idiotic caller myself, I can say that they are mostly worthless. Maybe a better idea would be to have some of the more well know cags call in for an interview; or just to chit-chat. I have enjoyed these conversations in the past. Lacking a call screener, I don't think there is a good way to weed out the morons.

I realize that it's a welcome break for you guys to do a live show once in a while, but I don't think that you should have to lower your standards so much to do so. Still looking forward to the next show. Unless it's just Wombat and Shipwreck, cause those guys are fucking a-holes ;).

I think you misunderstood why I asked for no more comments about it. It is not that I want glowing comments, it is because we all know. Do you go into other threads and post same thing that 15 people already said, how does that contribute?

The quality was awful, we are sorry, but we don't need person 16 letting us know again as if we didn't read the other comments.

[stonefry]

It's all good Wombat. I understand where you are coming from. We have a difference of opinion. I think that anybody who listens to the CAGcast has a right to say whatever they want in the comment thread without having to read the whole thread. I also think that having 16 complaints about the audio quality might have a different influence on the future of live shows than one or two complaints would.

[kalkin]

Cheapy you should be ashamed of yourself for letting this episode go out in this condition. Isn't CAG all you do for a living?...

Cheapy sort it out man. I'm only just coming to terms with Ship being a regular and then you release shit like this. I stopped listening after 10 minutes. I then scanned through the rest of the show and found the audio quality the same throughout.

You like the live shows because they're easier for you. But this is your bread and butter. Make a little effort for the people that are paying your bills. You're losing me...

[kalkin]

I think you misunderstood why I asked for no more comments about it. It is not that I want glowing comments, it is because we all know. Do you go into other threads and post same thing that 15 people already said, how does that contribute?

The quality was awful, we are sorry, but we don't need person 16 letting us know again as if we didn't read the other comments.

Wombat come on man. This is feedback from your listeners. If enough of us tell you the sound quality is shit then it helps you understand the scale of the problem. Surely that's worth something. The live shows have to go.

[spineynorman]

Wombat come on man. This is feedback from your listeners. If enough of us tell you the sound quality is shit then it helps you understand the scale of the problem. Surely that's worth something. The live shows have to go.

Especially since Cheapy has mentioned several times how important it is for him to have good sound quality and a slick production. A couple years ago when I started checking out video game podcasts, there were a few where I didn't even bother listening to past the first minute because of the sound quality. CAGCast sounded great so I kept listening and then really liked the hosts and content. If this show were my first ever, I'd have given up. I like the show overall so much that I made it through this episode, but the perfect audio we usually get is extremely nice.

[Z_meista]

Even if the discussion and topics are great on the show, it would be hard for someone to keep listening to the podcast if it sounds terrible.

And oh yeah, just hang up immediately on live callers if they have nothing to talk about and give useless shout outs. It's more fun that way.

[benjamouth]

I've got to be honest, I usually enjoy the CAGcast but this is the first time I've stopped listening part way through.

Apart from the terrible sound quality which has been mentioned by many others, it's the awful callers you get that really killed it for me.

I think you need to take a good look at these Live shows and decide whether they're really worth doing. I fear Wombat and Cheapy still harbor a hope that the live shows will somehow lead to a radio show. Honestly guys you need to give that up, it's not going to happen. I'm not trying to be harsh on purpose but I listen to quite a few video game podcasts and none of them are good enough to make it onto radio. One of the problems is the subject matter itself, video games do not make a good topic for a Live show, in the same way they do not make for interesting callers. If you think you're going to make it into a radio gig on the strength of the chemistry between you pair alone, I'm sorry but there are a lot of radio partnerships out there doing a better job.

You have a good podcast, be happy with that. The Live shows are, with few exceptions, not very good. If you're going to do them maybe stick to interviewing people as that seems to come out about the best, but it would seem to me you don't need a live show for that.

[jaystaeb8]

Please, no more live shows with CAG callers. You guys want to go live, have a guest, take forum questions great, but the CAG callers are simply horrible. The audio quality of the entire show was pretty bad but it was tolerable when Cheapy, Wombat, Ship and Christina were talking because they were worth listening to. But poor sound quality and callers who have never said anything worth listening to is a deal breaker for me. I'll keep listening to the podcast because I enjoy it, I'll just find something else to listen to when it is a live call in show.
Simplified:
Recorded and edited CAGcast with or without a special guest = Outstanding
Live show with special guest = Very Good
Live show no guests = Fair
Live Show Callers = Awful (actually fucking awful)

BTW - I finished the episode before posting my review!

[Blackout]

Wombat come on man. This is feedback from your listeners. If enough of us tell you the sound quality is shit then it helps you understand the scale of the problem. Surely that's worth something. The live shows have to go.

It also speaks on the content of the show, since there was nothing of value outside that interview. There's a reason why so many people are only bringing up the terrible sound quality, bad callers, lack of direction, topics, etc. What else is there to talk about? Breaking down every single point Christina made? The interview was great and pretty insightful, and in perfect timing since everyone is playing Mass Effect 2 right now, and will be for the next few weeks. Everything else dragged the episode down though. It's hard to take the episode seriously when you have people calling in shouting out to their friends and plugging their websites, while Cheapy lets it go on for whatever reason, probably because he's droning them out while he loads up a porn video to watch when the show is over. You guys could have just recorded the interview like you did for all the others and stuck it in next week's CAGcast. Listeners are used to going 2-3 weeks at a time without a CAGcast. It's better to do a quality show than a shitty live one.

[AgentSushi]

I think you misunderstood why I asked for no more comments about it. It is not that I want glowing comments, it is because we all know. Do you go into other threads and post same thing that 15 people already said, how does that contribute?

The quality was awful, we are sorry, but we don't need person 16 letting us know again as if we didn't read the other comments.

I don't see the issue people are having, alright the quality wasn't perfect but it was perfectly listenable, and a good show as always keep up the good work. I know cheapy's not doing a show next week but are you and boatcrash going to do one?

[ItchyD]

I think you misunderstood why I asked for no more comments about it. It is not that I want glowing comments, it is because we all know. Do you go into other threads and post same thing that 15 people already said, how does that contribute?

The quality was awful, we are sorry, but we don't need person 16 letting us know again as if we didn't read the other comments.

lol why does this response annoy me so much?

[Nebenator]

I think you misunderstood why I asked for no more comments about it. It is not that I want glowing comments, it is because we all know. Do you go into other threads and post same thing that 15 people already said, how does that contribute?

The quality was awful, we are sorry, but we don't need person 16 letting us know again as if we didn't read the other comments.
Wombat, I completely understand your frustration. Your disappointment in the sound quality affecting the entertainment of the show mixed with the annoyance of seeing many replies with the same few discouraging messages causes your frustration, and I understand it just too well.

When I was making youtube videos, no matter how long I spent creating them or how entertaining they were, if there was just one mistake (a spelling error, maybe a transition opened too early), all of the comments and ratings would be reflecting upon that. "LOL FAILL SPELLING ROFLROFL!!!" and people constantly 1 starring my videos helped greatly when I made my decision to just stop making them.

I actually enjoyed this show. The content you put in it was great, the jokes made me laugh, and the interview was fantastic! But you already knew about the interview from the previous 16 comments ;)

And yes, something must be done about the callers.

[TOE THUMBS]

Love the garglegrale live show garglegarlge, I don't garglegargle know why so garglegargle many people complaining about garglegargle the gargle sound gargle qualigarglety... j/k love you guys.

[Darknyss]

heh, I'm going to go out on a limb and say this will probably be the last live show for awhile. ;)

Audio issues aside, there were a few things that stood out...

- I thought it was kind of rude for Cheapy to leave Christina on hold for so long. I realize you were just getting the show started but you took a caller before her FFS. If it was JimmyMac or Ron Workman I'm sure he would have interrupted whatever was going on immediately.

- I was shocked when she suggested doing something else (like everyone has two TVs in the same room) while scanning in ME2. If something is that boring and tedious, it shouldn't be in your game. I can't believe you guys didn't press her on that ridiculous response.

- Very awkward way to end the interview.

[spineynorman]

One really good thing about this show is I'm looking forward to Cheapy talking about the feedback it received on the next show. One of the things I respect about Cheapy is how he handles stuff like that.

Crap - I just remembered he's not going to be on it next week! Oh well.

[Cokomon]

Regarding the audio quality of this show, I think what actually happened was that Cheapy and the gang really are a bunch of PS3 and Wii hating XBots. The audio problems didn't come from Skype or network issues, but from their Microsoft issued voice modulators being broken.

This is further evidenced by the fact that Christina and the other callers all sounded fine. Also, when Cheapy was joking about Wombat's hammer hands pounding on his keyboard, he was actually angry that Wombat had forgotten to put his synthetic human hands on before typing.

[MIGGO]

One really good thing about this show is I'm looking forward to Cheapy talking about the feedback it received on the next show. One of the things I respect about Cheapy is how he handles stuff like that.

Crap - I just remembered he's not going to be on it next week! Oh well.

I managed to catch part of Cheapy's exclusive UStream chat this morning while he recorded himself drinking beer and eating cheese. I asked him about the response from CAGs about this show, and he responded something to the effect of, "Yea...not a lot of people liked it. Probably not going to do another one."

[RchrdJ]

Seriously, you people need to give Cheapy and Wombat a break. They're on Blog Talk Radio for fucks sake. If you think this is bad, listen to the original Kotaku Talk Radio podcasts. Those had both terrible sound quality and boring as fuck conversations. At least Cheapy and Wombat try to liven the show up.

BTW, thanks Cheapy for asking my question during the interview with Christina.

[Z_meista]

Seriously, you people need to give Cheapy and Wombat a break. They're on Blog Talk Radio for fucks sake. If you think this is bad, listen to the original Kotaku Talk Radio podcasts. Those had both terrible sound quality and boring as fuck conversations. At least Cheapy and Wombat try to liven the show up.

And that's why I don't listen to that podcast.

[dopa345]

The interview with Christina was fantastic.

The rest of the Cagcast, no so much due to the very poor audio quality.

[Regian]

Good show, I can get past the audio quality deal, though. I've only logged a few hours into Mass Effect thus far and the talk about the mining mini-game has me a bit on the worried side. I hope I don't let out a groan each time I reach it.

In terms of the live show, I don't mind that you guys do it. But the callers? Christ, if I had a live call-in show and had some of these callers I would have given them the Evel Knievel gimmick nine times out of ten. The occasional mark out to Wombat or Cheapy is to be expected. But shout outs? Plugs?

"Stop calling me on the phone, you mother fucker! *CLICK*"

If only Blog Talk gave you the opportunity to weed out and screen calls beforehand, I imagine you'd have a few more insightful callers.

Anyways, hopefully you don't abandon the live show concept completely. It's great to do when you have a reason to do it, like this episode with Christina. Otherwise, there just doesn't seem to be a purpose.

[trip1eX]

Horsesht sound, but I guess you guys have heard that by now. Started skipping ahead when, lo and behold, a clear voice rang out of the distance. A relief swept over me. Like a bowl movement taken care of.

But 2 minutese later I felt the rumbling again. Not again.

Nope back to the toilet. Ahhhh much better now, Bioware interview, clear voice. I almost overlook the PR-ness of it all - her voice is so clear.

But alas I am done. I wipe, and flush one last time, er, I mean turn off the podcast.

[Mayday]

This show could of been fantastic, but your decision to make this a live show so Cheapy could just do nothing all day, ruined it. The quality is not just some-what-poor, it was dreadful. I found it so hard to listen to show what's an usually situation cos I'm a huge fan and when I'm not listening to the new show I'm listening to old ones, come on guys you had someone from Bioware, one the biggest guests ever on the show and it's on this poor quality show. Come on guys, enough of the live shows.

p.s. shipwreck's hair is awesome. Gingers 4life.

[mnine]

This CAGCast had the best content in a long time, which is good because it's the only thing that kept me from shoving pencils into my ear drums. The audio quality was virtually unbearable.

[shajek]

So, what. The audio quality was less than perfect. But, I don't really care. It's a free podcast with three guys talking about games. This episode was good because of the content, especially the interview. I'm now going to get Mass Effect 1 as soon as possible so I can get on the Mass Effect bandwagon. The interview sold me on the game more than anything. Well, CheapyD's love for the game, too.

It's because of Shipwreck, Wombat and CheapyD that I finally broke down and got a 360. First new game purchase was Red Faction solely because of Cheapy's recommendation. Love the game. Now, I've got to get Mass Effect 1.

Keep up the great work on the podcast. All three of you make the show. Can't survive a week without it.

[BigBizzee]

I'm curious - are the only 2 reasons for a live show the callers and the ease of making it (vs. The regular shows)?

If so... I think cheapy would give up "easy" for better sound (he's a business man afterall) - and its already been documented that cags can't stand the idiot callers.

In which case...what reason is left to have a live show?

[Mayday]

I'm curious - are the only 2 reasons for a live show the callers and the ease of making it (vs. The regular shows)?

If so... I think cheapy would give up "easy" for better sound (he's a business man afterall) - and its already been documented that cags can't stand the idiot callers.

In which case...what reason is left to have a live show?


It doesn't need to be edited, Cheapy has the very little to edit a live show, if not anything.

[Mayday]

I'm curious - are the only 2 reasons for a live show the callers and the ease of making it (vs. The regular shows)?

If so... I think cheapy would give up "easy" for better sound (he's a business man afterall) - and its already been documented that cags can't stand the idiot callers.

In which case...what reason is left to have a live show?

So, what. The audio quality was less than perfect. But, I don't really care. It's a free podcast with three guys talking about games. This episode was good because of the content, especially the interview. I'm now going to get Mass Effect 1 as soon as possible so I can get on the Mass Effect bandwagon. The interview sold me on the game more than anything. Well, CheapyD's love for the game, too.

It's because of Shipwreck, Wombat and CheapyD that I finally broke down and got a 360. First new game purchase was Red Faction solely because of Cheapy's recommendation. Love the game. Now, I've got to get Mass Effect 1.

Keep up the great work on the podcast. All three of you make the show. Can't survive a week without it.

Exactly my point, the quality of a non-live show is perfect, If this has been recorded instead of live it would of been an amazing podcast, but it sounded like Robocop talking to R2-D2 the whole episode.

[DarkZion]

This CAGcast was horrible. I'm not even sure why you guys still do live shows. The main reason for a live show is to have people call in, but in this case the callers either sucked or you were in a hurry to have them get to their point. The show would have been better if it weren't live. The interview with Christina was great, but the audio quality dragged it down. And the callers dragged the whole show down.

[RonWorkman]

- I thought it was kind of rude for Cheapy to leave Christina on hold for so long. I realize you were just getting the show started but you took a caller before her FFS. If it was JimmyMac or Ron Workman I'm sure he would have interrupted whatever was going on immediately.
.

Let me say that Ron Workman sucks

[usickenme]

Is there any way to strip out the interview. That was the only good part.

[bmulligan]

Sorry, but that was horrible.

The only saving grace was the Mass Effect commercial in the middle of the show.

[retromufc]

The audio quality was horrible but what can you do when you have one of the lead designers of the current talk of gaming? I am sure Cheapy and the guys would never have released it if Christina wasn't a guest and had done such an amazing job. I for one I am glad they did, I really enjoyed this show and Christina was a great interview. For someone like me who is not aware of what goes on behind the scenes it was very cool to listen to what it takes to make such a great game.

The one thing that bugs me is these assholes acting like a bunch of hangers-on pimping their stupid ass podcasts and websites. That shit has got to go. Fuck you and your shitty site and trying to leech onto this sites listeners by sneaking one by the guys on a live call in.

Love the shows guys, live ones too!

[Droenixjpn]

Next time just hang up on the caller before they start their advertisement or shout-out. Before you go on the show, think of a question that actually is smart or has some form of intelligence.

None of this slow, advertising talk, "Yo.....Cheapy...... can I.... send a shout... to my friend (insert name of unknown person)...."

[kaw]

Wow, the end of that interview made me cringe. That was just an embarrassment for everyone involved. This has to be one of the worst cagcasts of all time, and not just due to the audio quality. Shipwreck has a way to derail any momentum that the show starts to pick up. Here's a new nickname for Shipwreck -- Trainwreck, because every show he's on feels like one.

[FriskyTanuki]

It sounded like you guys were just rubbing your fingers on your throats for the first 20 minutes before it cleared up and switched between those two states for the rest of the show. I'm not an audiophile, but there's a difference between clear audio sounds and one that sounds like you're recording laggy audio.

You guys can obviously screen calls if you were able to weed out the special guest, so why not do that for every caller and make sure they're not dumb or awful? Definitely cut the people that have shoutouts and plugs without anything to add to the show because all you're doing is enabling them. Just treat them like spammers you find on the forums.

White Knight Chronicles wasn't even revealed until the TGS after the PS3 came out, so it was never supposed to be a launch game. Level 5 kind of went super quiet about the game until maybe a year before it came out, which was Christmas 2008.

The requirement to level up for the bigger matches in MAG is to make sure you're more experienced and limit the amount of stupid noobs that can infect those matches. If you have to put more time into it, you're more able to learn the way it works and be more of an asset than an issue. The biggest difference for me between MW2 and MAG is that you can more easily build your class to your liking by spending skill points on the gear or abilities you want rather than letting whatever unlocks for you at each level decide what you can be. I've not had any lag be an issue, but my biggest issue is that the random matching can leave me with a squad of bad players that can't or won't heal or want to be Rambo and not work with others.

The PS3 beta for Bad Company 2 was great since it only required a decent amount of teamwork to complete objectives in gold rush mode, unlike MAG, and it was just a lot of fun to play the game, unlock new guns, gear, and upgrades that aren't tied to leveling up.

Decent show despite the quality issues and assholes that call to advertise on the show.

[retromufc]

I think they called the special guest.

That is a good point though, you should either screen callers or only give certain people whom you want to speak with the number. The shoutouts and dumbass advertising is embarassing for a podcast of a website of this size.

[200STM]

I just want to say as a person who once called to ask a questition Ive been wondering bout for awhile, the calls that people have done were worse than mine thats it I guess some people are lucky some aint. I also want to say I will never complain about cagcast at all even the 179 episode because these are free and people take time from thier own day to do them and I have no right to say anything that I get what I get its free no complains good show

[shipwreck]

White Knight Chronicles wasn't even revealed until the TGS after the PS3 came out, so it was never supposed to be a launch game. Level 5 kind of went super quiet about the game until maybe a year before it came out, which was Christmas 2008.

While never intended to be a launch game, White Knight Chronicles was definitely announced prior to the PS3 being released. It was known as White Knight Story back in 2006 and I certainly remember it as being one of the games PlayStation 3 enthusiasts were looking forward to.

[CheapyD]

- I thought it was kind of rude for Cheapy to leave Christina on hold for so long. I realize you were just getting the show started but you took a caller before her FFS. If it was JimmyMac or Ron Workman I'm sure he would have interrupted whatever was going on immediately.
Or maybe I picked up her call on the agreed upon time for her interview.

And yes, unlike the show itself, I hear your audio & caller complaints loud and clear.

[FriskyTanuki]

While never intended to be a launch game, White Knight Chronicles was definitely announced prior to the PS3 being released. It was known as White Knight Story back in 2006 and I certainly remember it as being one of the games PlayStation 3 enthusiasts were looking forward to.
Yeah, I mixed up which TGS it was at, but it was still nowhere close to being a launch title.

[usickenme]

Wow, the end of that interview made me cringe. That was just an embarrassment for everyone involved.

No kidding. C'mon Cheapy you aren't Howard Stern and the guest isn't some bimbo. (and the CAGcast isn't a 13yr-olds slumber party). I half expect you to drop a 'Truth or Dare' on her next.

[Cokomon]

Yeah, how could anyone want to kill Shipwreck?

[CheapyD]

Wow, the end of that interview made me cringe. That was just an embarrassment for everyone involved.
I certainly do not know Christina well, but my impressions of her from hanging out with her at E3, combined with her love of the CAGcast led me to believe she would not be offended by that question. In fact, I believed she would think it was funny.

Of course, I could be wrong.

The best part about Christina's answer was that she decided to sleep with the only one of us that she hasn't met. Ship and I must have made quite an impression on her.

[banodyne]

Please, no more live shows. The audio quality is so I bad that after a while I give up listening. I normally really look forward to the show.

[shieryda]

The show really fell apart towards the end. This the first live show I've downloaded from iTunes, and will probably be the last. The audio quality (I know, I know - it's already been acknowledged as being poor) was just unbearable, and some of the callers were just bringing down the episode.

[Tengaport]

good lord man, my ears are bleeding after listening to over an hour of Cheapy, Ship & Wombat doing their best Mr. Roboto impressions. I like the live format of these shows, so hopefully the audio quality will catch up at some point.

Though it's extremely infrequent, I like when the CAGCast has guests on the show. Try to wrangle some more on in future episodes (get it, moron... haha)

[repete]

I know its like beating a dead horse but the quality in this is worse than calling someone in a tunnel. Its as if half the sound is missing in every word. Iv never really been a fan of the live shows that much but this one sealed my opinion on that. I dont like the live shows because most of the time the conversation goes like this
Cheapyd: Hi hello who is this?

Caller: Im .... and could you give a shout out to my mom and dad and uncle and dog and cat and friend that i met in high school and my friends dog and his cat and my dying grandma and my grand father and one for each of my children....

I know im exaggerating but for constructive criticisms i think there should be a rule of no plugging yourself or your own websites. Im sure there is another website you can use that will have better quality.

[maximus101]

Cheapy, thank you for taking the constructive criticism a lot better than Wombat did.

[TheTrueSephiroth]

I love this podcast and have been listening since episode one, never missing an episode in between. But I can't listen to this one. The audio quality is so bad and choppy at some points, I couldn't take it. I like the live show idea, but maybe you guys just shouldn't do it if the quality isn't there.

[monkeychunkuk]

ok so the audio wasnt great but when its a live show what can you do?
So many podcast's sound like that every episode so i think im used to it,i thought the interview was great.good luck with the move

[stonefry]

I certainly do not know Christina well, but my impressions of her from hanging out with her at E3, combined with her love of the CAGcast led me to believe she would not be offended by that question. In fact, I believed she would think it was funny.

I don't think that the question was out of line. I certainly can't read Christina's mind, but I'm pretty sure she thought it was funny. Her answer was great though. However, maybe you should have prepped her for it beforehand.

[chado53]

:lol: Thomas was awesome.

off topic..but i noticed you're using "fjordson" the brian jonestown massacre is the best thing out there right now. props

[Swoxx]

After going back and forth in my head a few times, i've finally decided i don't like the live shows, they're allright if you actually listen to them live, partly because of the audio and partly because of the atmosphere while listening live.

But when you listen to it after the fact, all you get is seriously shitty quality(especially this week) and the content is never really as good as a recorded show.

Decent show guys, decent show.


ps. wombat is god, no not good, god.

[willc23]

Asparagus, asparagus, asparagus.

[MattJ1991]

whooboy! I listened to this twice and I gotta say....easily the worst, yet actually the funniest one in a long time!

It was TERRIBLE because almost every caller was god awful, and you guys seemed to have no control over the show. Yet it was funny, because it was so bad. Near the end of the show when the bad calls kept coming on in I found myself laughing out loud at the sheer awfulness of it.

But I have to say that the Interview went smoothly enough, so at least this show wasn't a total loss. I'd say stick with the recorded shows from now on, or get multiple guests per live show.

oh and p.s., Wombats hammer hands made me laugh too, cause you guys just shut him down, and the "FUCK YOU WOMBAT!" guy was also pretty good.

[ianoid]

The callers are terrible. And need I say the quality was incredibly bad?

On a previous live show you had some friends and industry types call in (Jimmie Mac? And others), and they are clearly better prepared to shoot the Shaq with you guys and make it interesting.

I suggest you try to line up guests like that for the live show. Regulars, for 5-10 minutes of quality chatting.

The Trinamic of Ship-Womb-CheD is really getting good.

The interview with Christina (Kr?) was excellent, but mostly because she's an excellent guest. Still, you guys had good questions and kept it moving. The K/M/F game made me uncomfortable for some reason. She took it well, a credit to her definitely.

Have you guys played any games more than a year old lately? If so, which ones and why?

[TheToiletDuck]

We need a forum badge for all of those that managed to listen through all of this (i wouldn't get this badge).

Still though, hope there's a Wombat and Shipwreck episode next week :)

[Foxtrot0245]

It wasn't easy, but I potentially earned one of those badges! These shows are like triple-fudge-chocolate-covered brownies; they are great in theory, but too many of them and BOOM, diabetes...

I mean, I thought the whole idea of these shows were to please fans of the show?? After reading these comments, it doesn't seem to have the effect that Cheapy thinks it does.

[Decepticreep]

ok so the audio wasnt great but when its a live show what can you do?
So many podcast's sound like that every episode so i think im used to it,i thought the interview was great.good luck with the move

The content of the show was good, but the sound quality was embarrassingly bad. I wouldn't have uploaded a show that poor in quality. That's like something you'd hear from an inexperienced podcaster or like trying to pick up a New York AM radio station in California. I would have edited out the interview and pasted to a non-live show and explained the reasoning.

[Loonknight]

Finally finishing listening to this episode, had to do it in bits in pieces due to how the audio was probably as laggy/choppy as your experience with MAG CheapyD. Personally, didn't get that much lag when I was playing the game but when it did hit you did notice it but was good overall.

[TC]

I can only echo what others are saying about the audio quality of the live shows. Its so bad that I can't make it through an entire episode and this is coming from someone who has listened to every show since the first. Cheapy, Wombat & Shipwreck with maybe some recorded listener questions and the occoasional interview might be the right mix.

[msdmoney]

While the audio quality was really bad (worse than the other live shows for some reason), the callers got to me more than anything. I feel bad for Cheapy, Wombat and Boatcrash, because they are using the live shows as a way to reach out to the community and make the community feel more involved, but the callers really take advantage of them. Do CAG's really just like hearing themselves on the podcast that much that they call without anything to say, no question, nothing? Yep. Are CAG's really that inconsiderate to just call for shoutouts? Yep.

[DQT]

On Shipwrecks review: This guy complains that Shipwreck did not finish ME2. Then, he proceeds to complain to Shipwreck for not reviewing Demon Souls, a game that Shipwreck could not even start, much less even finish. Does anybody find something fishy about this sequence of events?

[gongshowhky11]

looking forward to next weeks show

[kingkiller33]

The sound quality was certainly painful, but Christina sounded clear, and I enjoyed getting some industry insights from her comments.

As for the bad callers, cmon, this is not a big radio show where they can screen callers. Just ignore the douche bags.

[jezis]

Good show guys can't wait to get me2 I was wonderIng though where. Can I ask questions for the show ? I gotta good general gaming question

[bmulligan]

I think the idea of live internet podcasts are idiotic. The whole point of podcasts is to listen to them at one's convenience. It's so last-century to have to be somewhere for appointment entertainment. I TIVO my television, get movies on demand, and listen to the music of my choosing when I choose it. Why the hell should I have to set my watch to catch any podcast at the time they're recording it? No reason at all.

And you guys aren't freaking Phil Donahue - so, stop taking live calls. Reading Cagbag questions isn't good enough? How about leaving voice messages to be played during a show. That would eliminate any snafu's during 'broadcasting'. Live callers, in general, don't have the talent to be spontaneously witty. Of course, neither does Wombat, but at least he's entertaining.

[nfsgamer]

What is swag? I hope it is not a spam opportunity that fills my email and sms messages to the brim. Does someone really earn money from this let me know I need it.