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Solo Poverty Monks? What Steps Are Required For Feasibility?

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  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Well I certainly don't earn any money on it yet. hahaha I also want to do some testing on recording streams at the same time as I stream them. I'm not sure how much it'll eat up in terms of CPU and memory.

    One thing I definitely will do is have Twitch save my streams for 14 days. That should allow anyone who wants to watch them to do so after the stream is over. I wasn't sure how to turn that feature on last night, so unfortunately the VOD is lost for it, but I've got it turned on now.
  • RedRodentRedRodent Member Posts: 78
    For what it's worth, I enjoyed the stream! I didn't catch all of it, but I tuned in just about when you braved the Ankheg nest and was hooked. Great fun!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Wonderful! Thank you so much @RedRodent ! Let me know if you have any advice or comments about audio levels or anything else! I did a little testing beforehand, but I'm completely new to this so I expect issues.
  • RedRodentRedRodent Member Posts: 78
    There were no issues on my end; you sounded perfectly fine. I'll try to catch your next stream and if I notice anything, I'll be sure to tell you. Again, loving the idea!
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,538
    edited May 2020
    Wrt monetization. It is my understanding that beamdog follows the ip rules set by wizards of the coast.
    From those rules it is my understanding that you cannot put fanwork such as streaming behind a paywall. It all needs to be open for viewing by anyone. In their rules it is listed that you can get money from donations, sponsors and ads. If i am to interpret all of that correctly then streaming at twitch or YouTube should be okay.

    @JuliusBorisov is this interpretation adequate? (also because I will stream my games in future as well).


    I really like this challenge. I wish you the best of luck and fun!
  • JuliusBorisovJuliusBorisov Member, Administrator, Moderator, Developer Posts: 22,754
  • lroumenlroumen Member Posts: 2,538
    That is the website I used for interpretation.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Tentatively planning for a 3 hour stream tomorrow night at 7PM EDT over at https://www.twitch.tv/caron_driel. I plan to finish up all the side-questing, hopefully getting at least close to level 9, and then starting on the main quest. We might be able to finish up Nashkel, but I wouldn't hold my breath. Hope to see y'all there!
  • BlackbɨrdBlackbɨrd Member Posts: 293
    Sounds like a proper challenging play-through. Me likey.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Alright, the stream's over. Thank you to everybody who came out to watch it. We got to level 8 by clearing out a bunch of the smaller areas, including High Hedge, Shipwreck's Coast, Seawatcher, Fisherman's Lake, the Red Canyons, the Xvart Village, and Dryad Falls. We also stopped in to the Archeological Site, although we didn't do much there besides killing Ba'ruk and scouting out the area.

    The biggest challenge today were the painful fights against the Sirines. We ended up just having to smash our head against the wall until we broke it, but break it we did. And our reward? A stealthy trip into the flesh golem cave to retrieve the first major external upgrade (as opposed to level-up bonuses); the Manual of Bodily Health!

    As far as quests, we ended up completing Perdue's Short Sword, Bjornin's Half-Ogres, and Bassilus the Murderer. We also returned the Colquetle family amulet to Mr. Colquetle.

    It'll probably be a week before I play anymore. I've got finals during the first half of next week, but after that I should be able to stream and play much more consistently. If you wanted to watch, but missed the stream, the VOD is up on Twitch for the next 14 days, and will be uploaded to my channel on Youtube to be preserved for posterity. (Link below)
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXX3sQv_W4qiI2c9Z-19wUw
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I'll be streaming again tomorrow night, since my finals will be all done and over with. Same time, same place. (7PM EDT over at https://www.twitch.tv/caron_driel) Hope y'all can make it!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited May 2020
    Well, another stream done. We finished up the remaining side-areas and got ourselves to Nashkel, ready to take on the main quest. We're about 60,000 XP away from level 9, unfortunately, but it'll have to do. It's past my bedtime, so I'll do a more detailed update later, but as always, thanks to everyone who came out to the stream. It really is fun getting to chat with you guys while I play. Here's a little snippet of the stream that I found noteworthy. You might even say I was inspired. VOD's up on Twitch and should be finished processing on Youtube in a couple of hours or less as well. https://youtu.be/JuRuCVPWJas

    EDIT: We cleared up the last of the side-areas, although in retrospect we forgot to clear out Ulcaster. We did, however, deal with the Firewine Bridge, Gullykin, and the Firewine Ruins, solving Gandolar's kobold problem and proving to Meilar that he can't be the greatest swordsman on the sword coast if we were able to so easily punch him to death.

    We dealt with several groups of assassins that reared their ugly heads, gave the dagger back to the revenant in the Valley of the Tombs since we couldn't hit it yet, killing Narcillius but not his mustard jellies for the same reason.

    In the Gibberling Mountains we met Hafiz and saved Samuel, while in the Lonely Peaks we dealt with Arghain and saved Hulrik's cow (although a reload was required as our first attempt somehow resulted in a catastrophically bad number of misses, and the cow died).

    We also cleared out the Gnoll Stronghold and went to Fire Leaf Forest, helping Albert and Rufie, killing Vax and Zal, and showing the arrogant Amnians, Sendai and co., that we were more than just barbarians; We were barbarians that punch really hard.

    Our entry into Nashkel was done by retrieving Brage from the Archaeological Ruins area. Fitting that we should perform such a heroic action, only to be greeted on our way out of the temple by the mayor, offering us a job to check out the mines. We searched around the town, picking up Joseph's wife's quest and dealing with Neira the assassin. We also suffered through Noober's dialogue for the additional XP.
    Post edited by Elrandir on
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I was going to stream today, but I've had technical issue after technical issue. I'll go into it in a spoiler tag, so just ignore it if you don't want to know. Short story is, I'm not going to stream today. With that in mind, do y'all mind if I play some and record it via text the way most of the stuff on this forum is done? I mean, I'd prefer to stream it and use text, but I'd also like to actually get content out semi-regularly. Just let me know. Thanks!

    I did also update the previous post to include all the details of what we did last time for those who prefer the text format over the videos.
    So, what technical issues have I been having? Ugh... So I updated my OBS (the recording/streaming software) yesterday to do a Memorial Day stream with my girlfriend. Minecraft wasn't recording and after some problem solving we found out it was because my OBS was SIX versions behind. So I updated.

    Come today, I try to stream Baldur's Gate and I have the foresight to check to see if it captures game footage correctly before blithely posting about an upcoming stream on here. It doesn't. Instead, I get a weird black screen of nothingness. *sigh* So I research it a bit and find that the issue may be because V25 of OBS isn't being recognized by games' anti-cheat software now that OBS has been updated. I'm not aware of any anti-cheat on BG:EE, but I figure why not. Older versions are usually more stable anyway, right? So I completely wipe my PC of all traces of OBS, download V24, and get it set up.

    It doesn't work.

    It doesn't work.

    So now I'm having to face another issue my PC has been having that I've been ignoring, that being my drivers are out of date because I can't log in to my Nvidia GeForce Experience program. I have the dreaded ERROR CODE 0x0003. So now I'm having to download my drivers and do a clean installation. This download takes about an hour. And I have to cook dinner in about an hour and a half. When I started this process I had enough time for a two and a half hour stream before I had to think about cooking dinner. When this is done (assuming it works) I'll have about an hour. So I've given up. I'll try to get this all sorted so that I can stream more effectively and efficiently in the future.
  • RedRodentRedRodent Member Posts: 78
    I'm sorry to hear technology decided to be a jerk, but I'd definitely be up for pre-recorded content. :) Hope the issues work themselves out though, endless troubleshooting is the worst!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    It's okay. If anything this OBS situation prompted me to fix my drivers, which I've been putting off. After trying every troubleshooting idea I could find I just said screw it and downloaded Twitch's personal streaming software. It seems to be working great (so far), so goodbye OBS.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I'll be streaming in about 15 minutes (7:20 PM EDT) over at
    Hope to see y'all there.
  • RedRodentRedRodent Member Posts: 78
    Great stream @Elrandir and a good showcase of the nature of this type of run. First the Mulahey fight being a cakewalk and then your troubles in Ulcaster a while later. Good stuff all around!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Thank you!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited May 2020
    I'll probably try to stream BG again tomorrow, but I just wanted to say that I've made a Twitter for the channel where I'll be tweeting out when I'm streaming, so if you want to keep up with me I'll probably be slowing down on the stream alerts here so as to keep this thread primarily about the run itself. I won't stop cold-turkey, but I will slow it down. Let me know what you guys think. Y'all are the ones watching, so I'll defer to you as to whether or not I'll stop. The Twitter is https://twitter.com/CaronDriel

    Edit: Some real life events have come up, and I won't be able to stream this weekend. Ideally next week I'll be able to stream everyday, with my goal being BG streams Monday/Wednesday/Friday. This isn't a set in stone schedule, but it's what I'm aiming for.
    Post edited by Elrandir on
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I'm streaming now! twitch.tv/caron_driel
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Well my stream dropped for some reason. Everything else that uses internet is working just fine, so I don't know what the deal is. According to the internet (downdetector.com) there was a massive spike in issues with Twitch in the last 15 or so minutes, so it's probably not on my end. All I know is that WE HIT LEVEL 9! The stream may have ended suddenly, but it sure did so on a high note!

    We cleared out the bandit camp and proceeded on to the Cloakwood, suffering a few deaths at the hands of spiders and ettercaps. We returned Gurke's Cloak to him, though, and we managed to successfully defeat Centeol and her minions after a high-speed chase through the spider-infested forest. After defeating the last foe a familiar *ding* was heard, and we had leveled up! It was honestly an incredibly exciting moment. While I'll probably clear out the rest of the Cloakwood first, this means that we can clear out several side-areas and specific encounters in those areas that we have avoided until now. Ulcaster, the archaeological site, and a couple of others that aren't springing to mind should now be available.

    I'll see you all again Wednesday at 10:30PM EDT for a continuation of the game. Hopefully Twitch will have sorted itself out by then.

    Here's a look at our sexy new level 9.
    16hgt2pj9juv.png
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Here's a short (6 and a half minute) long clip of the whole fight and my exuberance at the success.
    https://youtu.be/1XdQ-FDzWwA
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    As I said, I'll be streaming again tonight 10:30PM EDT. Hope to see y'all there!
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    edited June 2020
    Well, that was a highly productive stream. We finished up the rest of Cloakwood, flooded the Cloakwood mines after securing the slave's escape, then proceeded to clear out a few areas we had been unable to beat previously due to a lack of magical weaponry. These included defeating the flesh golems in the cave at the Lighthouse, defeating Icharyd (revenge was sweet) and completing Ulcaster's quest, and clearing out the Temple area (even those pesky vampiric wolves).

    Edit: After the stream was over, I used EEkeeper to add in a pair of Worn Whispers to complete Zhurlong's quest. As I mentioned in an older post, I accidentally killed the hobgoblins carrying the boots, then left the area, which caused them to de-spawn. Since I could have completed the quest had I not made a minor error and the fact that I loathe having an incomplete quest log, I just went ahead and gave myself the boots so I could finish the dang thing.

    There were a few deaths in the play-through today. Mainly at the hands of the Cloakwood mine guards accompanying the mage Hareishan. She wasn't the issue, surprisingly. Not once did she let off a spell during any attempt. The sheer number of guards, both melee and ranged simply overwhelmed me time and again. Between the ice arrows and the poison arrows from the archers, combined with the volume of attacks being thrown my way, I just couldn't survive. My eventual tactic was simply drawing them away after assassinating Hareishan, isolating them and picking them off while hiding in a small storeroom that acted as a chokepoint. Although a close fight due to poison, this did succeed.

    And speaking of a close fight due to poison... Most of my other deaths came earlier in the stream, at the hands of none other than the wyverns in the wyvern cave. Bloody hell they were a nightmare to face down. I ended up using a similar strategy of running to separate them from each other. It worked, but not without several deaths.

    One thing I've come to realize now that I'm using my stunning blow more frequently is just how ineffective it really is. I imagine its use will grow, but most enemies die before it has an effect, and those that don't die from one or two punches typically resist it because they have better saves. Add to this the fact that it has such a short duration (both the stun and the ability to inflict it), and the result is that I've been disappointed in it. I do feel that if someone else were to try this run, I would recommend playing a Dark Moon Monk instead. I think the Detect Illusion and the special abilities they have would be more useful in the long-run. Time will tell, though. The game has become noticeably less challenging now that I am at level 9, that's for sure.

    Anyway, that's the end of my long post. I'll be streaming more BG on Friday, same time, same place. And as always, if you missed the stream you can catch the VODs either on Twitch or on Youtube. Caron_Driel in either place. I really appreciate the support and conversation I've gotten from you guys. It's been a blast. This is the most enjoyable run of the game I've done in a great while, and I think that's largely due to the interaction with you guys. A special thanks to @Rik_Kirtaniya and @RedRodent. I think you two have been the most visibly supportive people from the forums. Also whoever ShutupNavi on Twitch is. I've been assuming that's RedRodent, but I dunno. But I digress. Thanks again to everyone.

    Next time we head to the colossal city of Baldur's Gate!
  • Rik_KirtaniyaRik_Kirtaniya Member Posts: 1,742
    edited June 2020
    @Elrandir It was really entertaining watching your stream! I especially loved your narration and commentary, it's crisp and you are able to hold the audience's attention very well.

    I'm not sure what happened but the stream appeared to cut off suddenly after the second fight with the mage in the second level of the mines. (It said something like "The broadcast has ended.") When I went in back after sometime to check if the stream was back on, the various stream video quality options were gone, so I couldn't stay for long after that.

    But I figured out what the matter was with that after a bit of googling. It appears that enabling the stream quality options is referred to as transcoding, and Twitch doesn't like giving it to people. It only gives permanent access to live stream transcoding to partners, and only temporarily ("as available" being the exact words) to affiliates and general streamers (with priority access to affiliates, but it's still not an always-sure thing). [See the image below.]
    9h62vsh35bcd.png

    So the quality options missing was no fault of yours, it's just Twitch being mean with us.

    By the way, YouTube, on the other hand, automatically transcodes your live stream to create many different output formats (all the different p's), and it's caching and buffering protocols are also better than Twitch's ones (which is why I can watch YouTube live streams on a higher quality than Twitch ever allows, on the same network connection). Also it has improved a lot of its creator tools (since those olden times when it was not a popular live streaming platform), so you might want to try it out sometime so you can see if it works better for you. B)

    EDIT: Also, another thing, it would be nice if you move the banner with your name to the top of the screen for the BG streams, since it currently hides the bottom UI and part of the combat log from the viewers, so we aren't able to see what you do there.
  • RedRodentRedRodent Member Posts: 78
    @Elandir Another great stream. I know very little of the finer details of Twitch streaming, but you make good content and provide a strong mix of entertainment, thoughtful reflection, and pedagogy (as much as that term applies to dedicated BG-runs!). I really enjoy watching, whether it's live or catching up later through VODs!

    I don't have a Twitch account so I don't know how my presence shows up during the streams. I guess I'm just an anonymous viewer? Either way, I'm pretty sure I'm not ShutupNavi. I've always been more of a Majora's Mask-guy anyway.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    @Rik_Kirtaniya Okay, gotcha. That's interesting. I've considered streaming on Youtube, but I'd half like to be able to have a presence on multiple platforms and I'd half like to not bother with trying to get software working again. I've had a great deal of issue with OBS and Streamlabs OBS because they don't want to properly work for me for reasons I cannot discern. I should try other encoders, but Twitch Studio works very quickly and easily. Unfortunately, that, as you might assume, doesn't work with Youtube. :D
    I will switch the placement of my banner, though. The thought had occurred to me before, but I didn't have the time to bother with it at that moment.

    @RedRodent Ohhh. Gotcha then. Alright, yeah. I guess you're just the constant silent "1 viewer" that I appreciate. :D
    And you are speaking to my soul with that Majora's Mask comment. That's my second favourite game of all time.

    Thank you again to the both of you.
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    I'll be streaming again tonight. Same time, same place. I do think starting next week however I'm going to change my stream schedule to Mondays and Fridays for BG (or whatever my "main game" is) and Wednesdays for whatever my "side game(s)" is(/are). Streaming five days a week with the rest of my busy schedule is just too much of a time sink. I might see about doing longer streams the days I do stream, but we'll have to see. It's still early in my "streaming career", so I want to play around with things a bit to find what works best for me.
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