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 ArbitorIan wrote:
When I read reports it's to see cool pictures of painted models fighting it out over fantastic terrain. I'm more interested in entertainment/story and recreating what I want from a game..

This is exactly what I'm looking for in batreps too. I'll add that when I'm just not feeling motivated to paint or drag myself to the game club to go play I try to find a nicely done batrep and that gets me all motivated.

Like a lot of people here I really don't like video batreps. I don't particularly want to hear awkward forced nerd banter, and the report itself is almost always really rambly and slow. I really prefer photo batreps with nicely taken pictures and commentary well thought out after the fact. The real killer for me is the format itself. In addition to a narrative I'm looking for pretty pictures, which video just doesn't really do.

This thread has the sort of photography I'm talking about,. If someone came up with a way to do some sort of neat narrative video batrep with close in shots I'd probably watch those.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/0/439793.page

My first interest are the lists. I love seeing what people come up with (I think armies and lists reflect character) and seein how they develop with repeat/series reports. Second for me are the models. Conversions and painting you see what real people do for an army. I have appreciation for a beautiful show model but Im much more interested in a real playable army. Third for me is the actual report. I like the surprising outcomes and the clever decisions when they are made. Fourth, I dislike video batreps entirely. I appreciate that they are way less work yet I can't watch them at work, the armies don't get justice like in pictures, and I can't stand the narrators, even the good ones. Too many ums, which I do plenty in 40k because there is a lot to recall. It just sucks to hear it on video. So that's me an batreps.

Personally myself, I don't like reading batreps that much, I will if the armies entice me, but the most fun I get is watching them, especially the ones from Mini Wargamer on youtube. They're just so much fun to watch.

I like reading batreps (with plenty of good photos) for story and/or tactics.
I like watching/listening to batrep videos while painting or building kits.

While I like MWG's stuff, this guy is by far my favourite as far as video-reps go: http://www.youtube.com/user/StrikingScorpion82

Unlike quite a few people, it seems, I like watching battle reports because it leaves your hands free, they're great to have playing while I'm assembling or batch-painting. When it comes to reading, I generally only read Jy2's batreps because of how well-made they are.

Why I like them:

- they're a way to enjoy the hobby when you're physically away from the gaming table/painting table/books

- good ones provide an insight into the minds of other 40k generals, and are often educational

- lovely pictures of other people's armies, terrain, etc.

- they often reveal how well a unit or an army or a list really does in an actual gameplay situation (oftentimes, online theoryhammer tends to make stuff appear way worse/better that it really is)



I write battle reports myself, and these are some of the things I believe you should look out for when writing them:

- have lots and lots of pics to choose from (with a smartphone, you should be able to often snap 2-3 pics easily, without slowing down the game)

- make sure you have pictures of all the key moments, at least one big overview pic of every turn, a pic of deployment, etc. If a reader can look at just pics, and still have a good idea of what's going on, you have done a good job.

- don't upload too many pics, or your battle report will take years to upload and it will make it seem like it's all pics and no text, 1-2 pics per turn should be enough, IMHO

- don't explain every little detail and every single dice roll, explain stuff in general terms and pay special attention only to the key moments and the fun moments, such as two HQs dueling, a big vehicle blowing up etc.

- provide the reasoning behind your decisions, explain your general strategy, explain your list and why you picked the unit combinations you picked

Hope this helps. :]

This is a cool thread, lots of good info.

We make video bat reps because it is a lot faster than written with pictures which are more labor intensive and we strive to get a lot of content out, especially now with the meta shifting so rapidly.

We try to keep them as short as possible, but in order to get a lot of good info in there on tactics, thoughts, what happened, etc. it is hard to do as it is so much information. Too short and it lacks substance, too long and it gets boring.

Written reports are great, too. I prefer shorter form reports usually as it gets confusing when there is too much, unneeded text. Just the facts, Ma'am! I used to really like reading 40K Enthusiasts reports when he was still around, and Jy2's are the best written reports right now, IMO as he sets them up, provides tactical info and then gives turn by turn photos with minimal text. I like that as it gives you the story and facts quickly but still has some of the quirky fun that makes wargaming enjoyable in the first place.

I like Video reports if they quality is solid and they stick to the facts and provide good information. I agree that video reports can suck big time if they are done poorly but can be really good when done right. Skari's are good as are Sinister Wargamings.

I will have to try and find time to do a picture and video report at the same time if we can.

I watch them to learn. I view it as something similar to watching tape in football or watching replays from the game I come from (SC2). I especially appreciate when the videos are less "I did X and then I did Y" but rather include a lot of the thought process for WHY and WHEN they did things.. the more the merrier! I also noticed as far as entertainment is concerned I liked actually seeing the roles as it allowed me to get a little more "involved" in the particular batrep. This takes a LOT more time and may be less interesting to others but I found that true for myself.

For the pretty pictures. I don't read batreps that have no photos of what's going on. Some representation of the events on vassal is nice, but it just doesn't cut it by itseflf.

For me, the gold standard is Mushkilla and his fantastic entries. Clear, concise, consistently formatted, and with very useful Vassal diagrams. I think videos are clunky and irritating for all the reasons people have already listed, and photos can be REALLY hit or miss, I find they're often washed-out, too far away to discern, or my pet peeve, the birds-eye CC phase shots. Worse than useless.