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I feel pics would fine, you definitely don't want to slow down your games though so one or two per phase would be good. Also you need to throw the one of our game up so I can get some feedback, there were a few big mistakes I've already recognized

Dashofpepper wrote:Hey folks!

This thread/question is more aimed at people who read my *personal* battle reports, which I haven't written in a long time.

I plan on starting up Battle Reports again, toting my camera to tournaments, and doing the jangle. What do you look for in a battle report, preferably that you haven't seen in any of mine? How could I improve mine? Do you prefer vassal screenshots over pictures? Pictures at different times than the ones I take?

Comments/criticism/feedback.

Pictures are needed, i also want an end of each round picture showing how far into your captain morgan you've gotten. <3

I want all the battle reports I read to look like the ones found here:
http://captureandcontrol.blogspot.com/p/battle-reports.html
Obviously since I write them!

Photo shots + Video? old reports was nice)

penek wrote:Photo shots + Video? old reports was nice)

I am not really a fan of video reports unless a tripod is used, it is easy to follow, and is accompanied by a breakdown of the armies/strategies/basic turns.

Sharp pictures with arrows drawn on them, and the analysis you usually write.

NO VIDEO--it ends up being too long and too difficult to refer to different parts. Video is great for fun reports like that necrons vs orks report

When it comes to battle reports, I look for the by-line, and if it says Dashofpepper, I usually read it. The reports you've done covering your Orks are among the best I've found.
The written portion of your reports are good...explanatory without being long-winded. Pics are better than Vassal, and starting with an overall shot of the table really helps getting bearings in more close-up shots. However, I would say that augmenting the action with Vassal is a plus in situations where the pics aren't clear or hard to follow.
Looking forward to more reports!

Definitely not a fan of the video reports. I also don't like audio commentary. I need some sort of top-down view of the battlefield with mark-up for every round. Ideally this would be a map view ala VASSAL with a compliment of well-focused pictures of models on the field for individual perspectives. I prefer that any narrative that may come with the report restricted to small summary blurbs or short scenes, always clearly marked out from the rest of the report so it can be skipped over as needed.

- Marty Lund

My preference is a vassal post deployment overhead shot to get a clear idea of what is going on. Afterwards one pic per player turn isn't too much. I prefer the way you write them as far as text goes. I'm not a fan of video batreps because of the work blocking that others have mentioned.

I'm against video reports (they're filtered at work ). If you've seen any of Ailaros' reports I think they are brilliant, very easy to follow.

SAJ wrote:When it comes to battle reports, I look for the by-line, and if it says Dashofpepper, I usually read it. The reports you've done covering your Orks are among the best I've found.
The written portion of your reports are good...explanatory without being long-winded. Pics are better than Vassal, and starting with an overall shot of the table really helps getting bearings in more close-up shots. However, I would say that augmenting the action with Vassal is a plus in situations where the pics aren't clear or hard to follow.
Looking forward to more reports!

I second this guy. A pic or two augmented from Vassal would be nice, but otherwise you do an A-grade job with Bat-reps all ready.

For any battle report I appreciate having thorough army lists. This includes some personal commentary as to why you included such and such in your list and their expected role. In that same vein you could include an after action report of how each unit performed, and your post game opinion of your choice in taking them and what you did with them.

No vid reports... and awesome dash of pepper commentary! huzzah!

Neconilis wrote:For any battle report I appreciate having thorough army lists. This includes some personal commentary as to why you included such and such in your list and their expected role. In that same vein you could include an after action report of how each unit performed, and your post game opinion of your choice in taking them and what you did with them.

This is the format I would prefer as well. Check out these bat reps.
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/285325.page
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/280456.page
http://captureandcontrol.blogspot.com/2010/07/40k-battle-report-space-wolves-v-blood.html

They follow that format and are great. If you are looking for a template to follow Dash, these are it. They are all by Disdainful who is here on Dakka, hit him up if you want to know specifics he and Overwatch share tips with me all the time on bat reps, list building, painting, modelling etc. They're good guys.

So, I'd like to chime in again. I've seen lots of links to lots of battle reports that people are acclaiming, but I'm having a hard time reading them. The pictures are nice, but they break up big text blocks that go into a lot of useless detail making them slow to read.

Furthermore, having reactions to what happened is nice, but the key thing that I'm missing out of lots of these reports is the "why". People say who shot at what, but they never say why it was a priority. People say (but don't adequately show) where there units moved, but they don't provide a reason for it. Without this, I'm left to guess why they did what they did. Without more detailed pictures, my guesswork usually ends up with me not having a clue.

As such, most battle reports I try and read end up with me learning nothing new whatsoever or giving me anything to think about. When this happens, my brain decides to treat it purely as an entertainment piece, at which point I skim over all the text that isn't pieces of dramatic fiction inserted between the text block or pictures.

Pretty pictures are pretty, and I'll definitely click on stuff to see them, but it's not really a battle report if you don't actually learn things from the battle.

Dashofpepper wrote:Hey folks!

This thread/question is more aimed at people who read my *personal* battle reports, which I haven't written in a long time.

I plan on starting up Battle Reports again, toting my camera to tournaments, and doing the jangle. What do you look for in a battle report, preferably that you haven't seen in any of mine? How could I improve mine? Do you prefer vassal screenshots over pictures? Pictures at different times than the ones I take?

Comments/criticism/feedback.

Would love to see your BR again. I really prefer vassal pics to real pictures, and dislike video.

You need to make a DoP Rap Battle Report.

Also, I really like seeing a top-down view that is edited in photoshop or paint to show where each unit is moving and whom they shoot at/assault. This can be accomplished by 1-3 pictures per player turn.

If I'm at a tourney and not playing (aka day 2 =p), I'll be more than happy to take pictures for you.

Photos are best. I'd recommend you get a picture of the entire table between turns if you can, that would really help keep track of of everything. I also second using photoshop or MS paint to highlight things if you need to.

What armies are you going to use though?

Ahh.. so the chuck norris of Wh40k is going to start writting bat-reps again..

CAN'T WAIT!!

Pictures. Lots of pictures.