What were the confirmed new features for members?

So I know that they did the 5 hour live SNES-a-thon - and there they talked about the survey and what new feature were/are planned. Did anyone get a concrete list? Were endurance runs on the list? Just wondering what I can look forward to this coming time if I decide to be a yearly subscriber again.

If they ever decide to do another Endurance Run and make it exclusive to subscribers then that would suck
 
Although it would make me consider membership even though I'm not crazy about the idea

Hugs from Drew Scanlon.

I missed the SNES-a-thon, but I haven't heard anything was actually confirmed, which means Endurance Runs were almost definitely not confirmed. Again, they're waiting until the right game comes along for an Endurance Run, so they can't announce that as a subscriber feature because they can't promise when the right game will come along.

You should stick with your yearly subscription all the same, I think. Gives you more of a voice when they do add a feature you care about.

I'm pretty sure they didn't confirm anything specific, they just discussed some options and things that were/weren't working for them currently. Namely, the Whiskey Media Happy Hour.

I wish they would poll *subscribers* and use the results of that poll to determine which new types of content they would produce, but I never got a chance to call in. I think they're aware that right now we're paying pretty much out of the goodness of our hearts and that we don't really receive much in return.

Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Making something like an ER a subscriber only thing would be a dick move.

Haven't they said before that they wouldn't make old features subscriber only? I'd like to think that an endurance run would count as that (but I wouldn't be surprised either way). 

Making something like an ER a subscriber only thing would be a dick move.

all the non members think that ER for subscribers is a dick move. all Subscribers dont care just wanna see ER.

@Azteck: who would put that stuff on torrents? subscribers wont because its too much hassle and they can watch it and non subscribers cant access it so they cant post in there.

@Giantstalker: did you not fill out the survey? that's what Dave used as a guide when he was talking about things like the happy hour on the SNES party stream.

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/who-likes-surveys/1896/

I don't know what this SNESathon is that I apparently missed, but I don't really need anything for the subscription. Just keep putting out good content and doing what Giant Bomb does.

@DocPorpoise said:

@Giantstalker: did you not fill out the survey? that's what Dave used as a guide when he was talking about things like the happy hour on the SNES party stream.

Nope, must have been away for that. I think I heard him mention something about it, but I thought it was more demographic information... not sure. Never got a chance to do it.

@MooseyMcMan: Keep in mind what they wanted to do to the Bombcast, so the no old feature being subscriber only is not a sure bet. Though I doubt that if they made another ER, they'd make it Subscriber only as it would probably just end up on a torrent site anyway

As long as they don't make make any old features subscriber-only, I'm fine. I wish I could subscribe, though, but I don't have the money. I definitely wouldn't subscribe if they began taking features away, though.

Something about being able to change your name.

@WilliamRLBaker said:

Making features pay for subsribers has the optiset affect on me it makes me not want to subscribe...

This is a total dick reply, I know, but wow dude, really?

A subscriber Endurance only run would be a good move, it would make people get a subscription.

@iAmJohn: You beat me to it.

On topic: I don't think anything was really confirmed other than the fact that they are thinking of some major content restructuring since they aren't happy with some features. Main point of interest being the Happy Hour.

I missed it but they should put it up on the site, it's important that subscribers who might've missed the show see what the new features are

I can't help it, but optiset is the most unique spelling of opposite I've ever seen.

I was never a big fan of the Endurance Run stuff but making that subscriber only would make me think I'm getting something for my $5 a month.

What follows is a totally unqualified, and probably biased, opinion of what they should do:

• Happy hour should be once a month. Once a weak is spreading it way to thin, it's barely even worth watching anymore (I know I don't.
• Each month should have a unique themed GB program, once a month, initially for subscribers. I think the SNES marathon was fantastic, and they could get more mileage out of that converter they bought.
• Regular opinion pieces from staff members, retrospectives about past games or upcoming technology or anything, available to paid members first. I know Patrick writes really good stuff in this vein.

I'd like a subscriber-only option to download all the Endurance Runs in one big chunk so I can watch them on my TV without having to manually save them one by one.

• Regular opinion pieces from staff members, retrospectives about past games or upcoming technology or anything, available to paid members first. I know Patrick writes really good stuff in this vein.

@Ravenlight: I'll one up you on this: I want them to release a special "Subscriber only" edition of the Endurance Run, with Commentary from Jeff, Vinny, Dave, and Drew. The entire thing can be "HAH! I remember saying that!" with Dave occasionally chiming in with "...Why the hell did you guys even do this?!"

Someone called in with that exact question and they didn't get into any specifics on new features. Simply having the SNES-athon was something that they wanted to do for the subscribers. They made the point that having regularly scheduled subscriber-only stuff was just one way to give us something extra and that they might want to just do stuff like that from time-to-time without much planning. We'll probably hear about new features when the next "Big Live Live Show, Live!" rolls around in the near future.

Also, they're giving us a subscriber-only phone number to call in and talk to them - ok, not really but it would've been nice to have when I was trying to dial in last week.

@Azteck said:

@MooseyMcMan: Keep in mind what they wanted to do to the Bombcast, so the no old feature being subscriber only is not a sure bet. Though I doubt that if they made another ER, they'd make it Subscriber only as it would probably just end up on a torrent site anyway

They were going to give the part of the podcast that was not time sensitive to the non subscribers a week late. I still don't understand what the big deal was with that. After the initial week you wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

They won't take away an old feature and it was not going to happen with the bombcast.

Edit: One small part of the show i did catch they were talking about a "first death run" possibly for subscribers, where they just played a game until they die.

That could be interesting but it would be terrible if they made it deep into a game.

Nothing was confirmed. They talked a little about a subscriber-only Endurance Run and the Jeff Gerstmann Hall of Fame, which would be Giant Bomb's version of Screened's Besties. They also said that the Happy Hour is going to be drastically restructured to allow for more features like the SNES all-day stream.

@Azteck: who would put that stuff on torrents? subscribers wont because its too much hassle and they can watch it and non subscribers cant access it so they cant post in there.

@iAmJohn: You beat me to it.

On topic: I don't think anything was really confirmed other than the fact that they are thinking of some major content restructuring since they aren't happy with some features. Main point of interest being the Happy Hour.

There were rumblings of:

• New short podcasts
• Big Red Batphone
• Short video features (examples given: take an old memory card put in a game and load the last save and see if they can get into it cold, Hardcore Endurance Run - play until the first player death)
• More behind-the-scenes and cross-site video features focusing more on the personalities of Whiskey Media than on individual site content (New show where Will and Vinny teach Jeff how to cook)
• Moving Happy Hour to monthly and filling the downtime with fresh new weekly features

Disclaimer: any or all of the above might have been a joke.

@crusader8463 said:

@Max_Antrax said:

@Azteck: who would put that stuff on torrents? subscribers wont because its too much hassle and they can watch it and non subscribers cant access it so they cant post in there.

They wait until it's over and pay $5 for a month. Then they download it all and upload it to piratebay out of principle if they felt they have been lied to and cheated by the staff for breaking their promise of not cutting old content from the site.

Ugh... people.

If anything the promise to not do that has caused them to cut features wholesale. Think of all the shit we all used to get that none of us get now. If they wanted to do an Endurance Run for subscriber's only, I think that makes a lot of sense, even knowing that, as it stands, I probably won't re-up my subscription.

Corpse Runs!

They keep on playing the game until one of them dies.... IN REAL LIFE.

...or until they die in the game.

There wasnt really anything set in stone as far as I recall. They are still discussing a lot of options based on the survey and data. Here's some of the things I remember being mentioned as possibilities though.

• Ability to change your username, probably once a year or something.
• A yearly subscription will possibly have the option of getting a 15 dollar coupon for the store, instead of a Members T-shirt
• Happy Hour will be less frequent
• More site specific streams/videos for subscribers. Basically more stuff like the SNES marathon. Maybe a bit more impromptu, not sure
• Possibly streaming video of podcast recordings. Might not be possible for GB due to embargos.
• Possibly more podcasts, specifically talk of an engineer/designer-cast. Not sure if this would be subscriber only.
• More behind the scenes/personality driven random videos.
• Hugs from Dave
• An effort to ensure international subscribers feel they get their moneys worth. Live shows are often on at weird times (Late at night in Europe, early in the morning in Australia etc.) I think it was Will or maybe Dave who suggested a weekend of various streams at times better suited for international subscribers. Most stuff will continue to be archived so people can watch it later on if the times are weird.

That's about all I can remember. The business/subscriber talk was REALLY hectic, with Will and Vinny playing Mario Kart, and Will constantly interrupting Dave. I love Will, but the one thing he needs to learn when he's in the host seat is to let the other person finish his or her sentences.

@DocPorpoise said:

@Giantstalker: did you not fill out the survey? that's what Dave used as a guide when he was talking about things like the happy hour on the SNES party stream.

http://www.giantbomb.com/news/who-likes-surveys/1896/

Perhaps it's my lack of attention, but I completely missed this as well.

They really should have sent it out to members via email.

Does anyone know any way to checkout a recording of the SNES-athon? Or if they are posting it later?

@Azteck: who would put that stuff on torrents? subscribers wont because its too much hassle and they can watch it and non subscribers cant access it so they cant post in there.

Wow, this thread is just great. I'll just put this out there, so we can actually get back to the topic at hand:

They never said anything about the next Endurance Run being for subscribers only.

You know how much they mentioned the endurance run at all? Two, maybe three sentences to comment on how they all knew it would be the most demanded feature, and then they went straight to the second most demanded one. They didn't talk about it being members only, they didn't reference doing one for members, what they DID do is say that they weren't going to make people pay for existing content, like say, an endurance run.

Now that we can stop derailing this thread with talk about that, I'll just add a few things that people have missed on their lists of what was said.

• Jeff Gerstmann's Hall of Fame, and not just the obvious games like OOT.
• WUTANG has been in production for some time and will return this fall.
• Dave and Vinny's PC Breakfast Talk, where they go to a cafe, get some food and talk about some good PC games.

@DeeGee said:

• Dave and Vinny's PC Breakfast Talk, where they go to a cafe, get some food and talk about some good PC games.

This would naturally pave the way for Brad and Norm's Starcraft Pillow Talk.

@ModernAlkemie said:

@DeeGee said:

• Dave and Vinny's PC Breakfast Talk, where they go to a cafe, get some food and talk about some good PC games.

This would naturally pave the way for Brad and Norm's Starcraft Pillow Talk.

YES!

@WilliamRLBaker said:

Making features pay for subsribers has the optiset affect on me it makes me not want to subscribe...

This is a total dick reply, I know, but wow dude, really?

They've always said that making a pay wall around existing content is the last thing they want to do, and so far they've stood up to that claim. So how about giving these guys the benefit of the doubt and calming the fuck down?

If they had done that SNES thing last year and not as a promotional stunt reminding duders to re-subscribe it would have been much cooler. My favourite GB event was the retro game marathon they did a Christmas or so ago. I would have paid immediately if there were promises of more of that.
 
It's difficult to trust a business that goes back on it's word. Before they had even finished saying "nothing would change for non-subscribers" it was announced that the Bombcast would be split. An idea akin to that of a Quest for first posts. Besides, whose to say that regular content hasn't been cut. How many QLs have they done as part of the HH? Do these guys really not have ideas for new segments or weekly shows? Or are these tactical business decisions?
 
Also Endurance Run? More like Deadly Determination... um, Daily?

@Venatio said:

If they ever decide to do another Endurance Run and make it exclusive to subscribers then that would suck Although it would make me consider membership even though I'm not crazy about the idea

And that is exactly why they'd do it.