The Reinvention of the SotA Streamer Program

Ravalox and I are working on the reinvention of the Streamer Program and we wanted to reach out to you, the streamers, and get your thoughts and ideas of a fair and equitable way to structure the new program. We plan to re-launch the program by the end of the year and would like to get Streamer input by December 1st to help us put together a program that works for everyone, so give us your two cents!

 

Whats this about? I was hoping to stream this month but had to put that on hold till next month hopefully. Maybe I can get in on this?

 

This is going to be good to see where the program goes.

One suggestion that would be nice is if people who are part of the program could be provided with an official streamer overlay, which would be a nice touch.

Also utilise the team page shroud can make as an official directory of streamers.
https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/twitch-teams?language=en_US&sfdcIFrameOrigin=null

If Cotos are being given out to streamers it needs to be fair and consistent based on real data, people who deserved cotos when I was in full stream swing this summer would struggle to get hold of them, but I'm sure this'll be improved anyway

It also needs to ensure the cotos are given out fairly and not to overly paint streams as freebie central, that could have a negative look to new people. It's all great most new viewers and players are mature but we want the game to grow just as much on merit and not just cause they can get loads of free stuff.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this programme goes, especially as I'm back to streaming more, now that my personal life had calmed down. Hopefully my input helps

 

Not streamer at the moment. But, I do watch a lot of Shroud streamers.

Maybe instead of COTOs, streams could give out viewer reward bundles. Rather than random items, it could let the viewer select from 5-10 unique items only available from these bundles.

 

I have been streaming SotA since alpha and I think this is a great idea. Being honest I think twitch is right now probably the most efficient way to bring this game to the public.

Chris did a good job all this time with cotos rewards but like Dulayne said, some control is needed. I have seen some streamers doing this for one day in a month and waiting to get some free stuff.

Willing to help you and Ravalox anytime you need with this program

 

Good news for sure. Here are my thoughts:

Stream prizes: Potions, deco, clothing to be used for giveaways. They can even be marked as coming from a streamer. As Shawn mentioned, allow them to be bundles with random things you can pick.

In-game announcement in Universal chat: No explanation needed.

Overlay banner: Simple border or banner graphic that is branded for Shroud. Adds some consistency to the streamers but allows for personal overlays as well.

Optional special title: Special title for those who stream, or a special guild designation so people know when they see you that you are streaming the game. This can be turned on or off as desired but is only available when you go live. It allows for people to act like "on the scene reporters" during big events.

Automatic hosting of Shroud streamers on Twitch: This may already happen, but have Twitch randomly pick a streamer to host who is live

Streamer Bio Page on sota.com

 

I was under the impression that the top 10 streamers recieve items or cotos for giveaways. If we are promoting the game, it's a form of marketing and I think a rewards program that is fair is a wonderful way to motivate us to produce some cool informative content about the game.

I like Shawn's idea about giving away unique items. Maybe a certain number of items each month, but honestly cotos work too. You can out small batches for normal streams but you can save huge batches of cotos for special stream days. Items as well.

Maybe there needs to be a set criteria that you have to follow in order to recieve rewards for your stream, instead of just being the top ten. Like, you must promote on some form of social media, or you must produce a certain amount of streams about the game per month, etc. A list that shows your commitment to market the game on your channel.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE Dulayne's idea of shroud overlays! Maybe some cute widgets like clockwork monkey's or cute baby dragons, or big dragons, trolls, nightmares, unicorns, so many options!

 

Lots of critters

It's my understanding that creative content produced by players will be rated, as well as PVP standings that are based upon level bracket etc. It would be awesome to include current player standings/rankings of these in the banner...

Not everyone takes the time to go to the website and sift through it all, this would serve to help make it very competitive, and oh my, what a competitive group we are

 

Some SotA unique overlays would be fun, for sure.

Maybe there can be some kind of Twitch referral code that streamers can offer up for new players that would allow them to create a new account that comes with a small bundle of non-tradeable items like an armor set and a pet.

I wonder if there can be some kind of live list of current Twitch streamers on the SotA homepage that would list whoever is currently streaming SotA and give a link to click to go to that stream. It would show:
https://www.twitch.tv/directory/game/Shroud of the Avatar: Forsaken Virtues

And of course sweet free exclusive loot for streamers!

 

I love these ideas! In fact streamers do get codes to give out for other games, so it would only make sense to do this for Shroud but with items to help them get started.
There is also a community chest on twitch that affiliates can set up on their stream for in-game items. People put in items and the streamer passes them out. I started one on mine one day but the items were for other games so it seemed kind of moot to pass them out. I wonder how we can get items for shroud set up in twitch so viewers can donate them to the chest.

 

Lots of good ideas above. Here's my thoughts...

It'd be cool to get a "reward" for streaming, but it doesn't (IMO shouldn't) be recurring. A one-time thing from the devs like the purple camera deco object would be perfect. Streamers could earn it by streaming shrould a set number of hours or something like that.

Being able to giveaway crowns on stream is great, and having Catnip provide this is wonderful. I do realize that there has to be a cap on these, however, which is perfectly fine. There are a lot of cool ideas above for other types of prizes.

A purple "supply bundle" would be cool.

I wonder if people could earn XP while viewing streams? Can an item grant XP? If we could give out 100,000 XP as a viewer reward, people would *farm* twitch .

Some official graphics would be great. Static graphics could include overlays, specific backgrounds for "startup" and "brb" scenes, and little things to decorate up the stream. Movies would also be cool, especially if they have a transparent background.

If 'twitch.tv/shroudoftheavatar' can become a partner, then Chris can create a stream team, and invite people to that team. Here's two teams I'm currently on: Madcap: https://www.twitch.tv/team/madcapsociety and Lord of the Rings Online: https://www.twitch.tv/team/lotrostreams.

Integration into the game would be cool. I wonder if we could get an Aether Visualization Amplifier Console device .

I'm not sure if this is policy or not, so I can't comment. The problem with giveaway rewards always going to the "top 10" is that reinforces them as them "top 10" as they will get more viewers due to having the giveaways. It isn't that those streamers don't deserve it, it's just difficult to balance fairness with equitable. (and, there's a lot of ways to game those numbers, so it's also exploitable.)

I really like this idea. Let's just call it a referral code . This doesn't have to be for streamers, it can be for any player, and they can get in-game rewards for getting people to sign-up. I have a regular chat message in my shroud streams telling people where to go to sign-up and download the game. If that could be a referral link, it'd be awesome!

Even better ... twitch extensions integrate twitch and the game itself in a very interesting way. For example, ECHOcast is the extension for Borderlands 3. With it, viewers can actually create drops and affect the gameplay of the streamer. See: https://www.twitch.tv/ext/07kczqwdkjxw6la4j92crc5wyumjxa

Thanks for starting the conversation @Justyn04 ... I'm excited to see where it goes!

 

Already on the main SOTA web site

 

I completely agree with you about there needing to be some control. Maybe we should submit applications that can be reviewed that detail what your stream is, what type of content you'll provide, and how often you will stream, what your average viewership is, and what type of giveaways you'd like to do and how often. That way they have more control of who is getting what, and what for, and why.

 

I love the idea of a template, I only recently started to play around streaming and slowly making my own template when I take the time to figure things out. Having something of quality would be awesome.

Never streamed before so still not sure what people would want to watch beyond some dungeon stuff, here and there.

 

A note about any graphics, especially for people who are looking for overlays. Any full screen graphics (or anything either full width or full height) need to work for the Base Canvas Resolution (as it's called in OBS). A lot of streamers have different base resolutions. I use 1440p and I suspect quite a few people use 1080p. If you look at Fzol's or Elgarion's streams, they are in widescreen format. So, if we want graphics that work at either full-width or full-height (or both), then those graphics potentially need to be made at a variety of resolutions.

 

A lot of cool ideas here I'll be brainstorming a bit then answer in hopefully this weekend for my 2 cents.

I do have immediate comments about the overlay idea. Really cool! BUT, I'd hope it would be optional. This would greatly help someone who's starting out as a streamer dive right in with an overlay customized for Shroud. Part of the fun, they might realize eventually, is customizing your own look for your stream. I go for a minimalist approach so people can see as much of the game as possible while I play. Also people can make an overlay befitting their personality and style. We already have a web graphcs dev pack (it's been around for ages and the link is on sotahelp.org -- http://sota.ultimacodex.com/get-the-shroud-of-the-avatar-fansite-kit/). Tons of SotA related graphics objects are in it for customizing your own look are in there. And for those just getting started, a starter overlay would really help someone jump right in. (I do recommend it be very minimalist though... the game is beautiful -- let's show it off )

 

How about Twitch Drops (https://help.twitch.tv/s/article/how-to-earn-drops?language=en_US)? Would require some work on the dev end, but they could customize the items to be whatever.

 

A lot of these sound like rewards for existing players to watch streams to the benefit of the streamers. Really it needs to be something to entice new viewers who don't presently play the game. Otherwise it's just an extra loot source for the current playerbase.

 

OK is this Streamer Incentive Rewards or a Stream Viewer Rewards? Difference being if its an Incentive then the items or crowns are mine for the keeping for streaming, Viewer would be more about growing stream.
1) There needs to be a minimum amount of time streamed to collect rewards.
a) Be it total time of active stream (30 Hours per Month)
b) Active days streamed. (15 Days)
2) ALL streamers need to be treated the same, the number one streamer needs to be seen no differently from the number 30, when it comes to how many Crowns or Items the streamer gets.
a) Not all streamers are on Twitch, Some streamers have started streaming on Mixer to promote growth on a growing market.
b) Viewers can be bought, you can purchase services that grant viewers.
c) Followers can be bought, same as viewers you can purchase up you follower count.
3) Streamers should not be having to beg for the " Rewards " many streamers have not seen anything for many months.
a) Stream Incentives should be delivered to streamers on the last day of the month.
b) If the Streamer runs out of Crowns or Items for the given month, they should have to supply their own Crowns or Items.
4) Any changes to the program should be given to the streamers with no less then 3 month notice.
a) This gives streamers time to adjust to the changes.
5) Longevity Bonus - Those that have streamed regularly for 3 months or longer will be granted a special item for the channel they operate. They will receive no more then there are Weekends in the month. The streamer can do as he wills with the items, Be it Keep them, or Raffle.

 

Avatars,

I'll acknowledge that I'm a little late to the party, much of what I've thought of has already been said, including: stream team, limited official giveaways, graphics, program entry application, and drops.

As a start, I'd like to see catnip set some ground rules of what they expect us as streamers to do, or some requirements of us. After getting into the program, getting the old rewards would be great, bound just like heritage items, and be incorporated into some kind of public list. I think just basics to start, and expand upon it as soon as it's identified that it's all working smoothly.

I'd like to thank @Justyn04 for her start of the topic, many things have crossed my mind over the last couple years that I have been streaming shroud, and it's nice to have a place to put it. I look forward to putting a few more ideas in here, but for now I'm keeping it basic.

Regards,
Dirty GardenGnome