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This Week at the Crumb Club - March 12th, 2023

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Happy Sunday, you lovely bunch of weird-doughs! This week at the Crumb Club, we're taking a breather; it's been a compact week with three back-to-back streams all in a row and we're slowing down a bit to collect our thoughts in preparation for the week ahead. While these blog posts have always been reflective pieces discussing the state of the stream, this will be a small peek behind the curtain as we explore new features coming to the stream in an effort to refine, refresh, and improve things across the board.

But first, a brief TL;DR of the past weeks' TWCC posts:

  • "FIRST!" meme redeem overhaul.

  • Schedule visual appearance changes and timing additions (EST and PST)

  • Stream Reward cost rebalancing

  • Redeem Limit tweaks.

  • State of the rotation

This week, we're going to be covering the following:

  • Upcoming changes to commands

  • Changes to timers.

  • Scene changes

  • Scheduling adjustments.

I !command you!

Commands have seen little usage due to a number of reasons: Very little signposting exists for viewers to understand what commands are available to them to use, be it through timer messages or an up-to-date list of commands and not enough variety exists in commands as they're only limited to the scope of chat. As part of a long-term effort to make commands more impactful and recognizable, commands as you know them will be changed to be easier to find and more varied.

  • Better signposting for commands

    • You'll find them in timer messages and a revamped !commands that'll list up-to-date commands.

    • "!commands" will also be appended to the end of every stream title going forward.

    • Specific timer messages will include hints at commands similar to loading screens of a video game that'll cycle over and over again.

  • Modified commands.

    • Some commands will be modified to better consolidate information contained in each message and reduce the number of commands available for viewers.

    • Some will also be deprecated in the process and will be detailed in a future post.

  • More varied commands

    • Expect to see more commands in the vein of !protec (Thanks, Anodica) and more automated commands to greet viewers in chat.
      • With plenty of room for memes.

It's about time.

As hinted above, more timer messages will be added to make stream features easier to find and make use of. You can expect timer messages to accompany new features such as support for pronouns by Alejo. For viewers who wish to have their pronouns visible in stream chat, a reminder message will pop up every so often to remind them to change their pronouns on pronouns.alejo.io and download the browser extension to better identify themselves and others in the Crumb Club. It's a small addition that we hope makes this stream that much more welcoming to LGBTQIA+ community members and to find a home with our crumby little community and participation in this is entirely opt-in.

Timer messages will also be reworked to better communicate specific features such as meme redeems, commands, and existing ones will have their timing adjusted to better accommodate new messages being added. For instance, a timer message for the "FIRST!" redeem will appear once every so often as well as a reminder to make use of BTTV emotes.

Nothing a lick of paint won't fix.

Scene and source layouts have remained mostly the same for about a year and as cozy as they've been, it's well past time for a change. Over the next few weeks, you'll be seeing changes to the main scenes as new features are added and rearranged to make it easier to collaborate with other streamers, improve reusability of footage for other projects, and to just liven things up a bit starting this week. Things may look a little rough in place as everything is tweaked in some way shape or form, from the most minute of details to sweeping overhauls.

We hope you like what's been cooking in the oven for some time and if there's any suggestions you'd like to make, our Discord is always there for constructive feedback.

Pencil me in!

Ideally this would be the part where I’d wrap things up by saying “look forward to this week’s streams!” while posting a new itinerary but this week is going to be markedly different. While posting weekly stream schedules has been incredibly helpful in setting expectations for the week ahead, I’m currently taking more freelance gigs and working to a more traditional “9-5” schedule while working from home. This is without mentioning schedule changes that will occur owing to time zone differences and other factors, especially in the face of potentially imminent travel plans.

Going forward, streams will take place 2-3 times a week from Monday to Friday after 4PM EDT/1PM PDT with the latest possible starting time being 9PM EDT/6PM PDT. Weekend streams (Saturday and Sunday) will take place after 10AM EDT/7AM PDT to 5PM EDT/ 2PM EDT. However, stream schedules are being temporarily deprecated until further notice. This means you won't see weekly schedules for the time being and whatever will show up on stream will be existing games on the rotation or new ones, much like how it was before schedules were posted. You can expect to see more surprise streams and more varied content going forward, but all information related to streams will be discussed on Discord and Twitter prior to going live.

We'll see you this week at twitch.tv/ballistictoaster and until next time, stay toasty!

~BallisticToaster