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Insightful commentary on strategy and decision making and a minimum of screeching into a poorly placed microphone.

Animations and augmented reality to visually represent rules, ranges and movement.
Montage, because if I need the same time to see a batrep than playing that I would be playing the game.
Some nuggets of statistics, like the average or probability of some strategy.

That, of course, taking for granted the table, miniature and players that should be good.

Also, some quirks or special mission or custom terrains or interesting rules to see how they perform.

Depends on my reason for watching the batrep.

If it's just background noise while painting, then gimme that banter and all those dice rolls and all that post-game discussion, and feel free to make it a couple of hours long. I just want that wargaming ASMR.

If I want to actually watch the batrep to see how certain units or armies work, then I want it short and punchy and to the point, with a bit of discussion during the game about why the players are making their decisions. 40k in 40mins is great for this.

One thing I really dislike is the army list overviews before the game. Put the lists in the video description and in the video itself, just point out the most interesting parts - the combos you are trying out, the interactions you expect to see, that sort of thing. I don't need players to pan the camera to every unit and go on about "we've got this unit with this upgrade, this upgrade and this upgrade...and here we've got this unit with these upgrades..." because dear god that is boring to me.

 Cheex wrote:

One thing I really dislike is the army list overviews before the game. Put the lists in the video description and in the video itself, just point out the most interesting parts - the combos you are trying out, the interactions you expect to see, that sort of thing. I don't need players to pan the camera to every unit and go on about "we've got this unit with this upgrade, this upgrade and this upgrade...and here we've got this unit with these upgrades..." because dear god that is boring to me.

I agree. Unless you've got some really weird and interesting army list that needs a bit more explanation, or maybe if it's a new Codex, I can read the army list myself and probably figure it out just from a 10-second shot panning over the units. Tabletop Tactics go back and forth on this part of the format a lot so it seems like there are people that agree and disagree with me in equal measure. I have noticed they've reduced a lot of the banter in the pre-game talk now, which is good. There were some videos that had literally 20+ minutes of banter and army description before they even got to the mission.

What seems to be getting picked up on by everyone ITT is the necessity to use the time well in a batrep. Some people want really short reports of 20-30 minutes and others don't mind longer videos. In every case, though, it seems like what people hate is irrelevant stuff filling up the time. Endless banter, random questions that are either stupid or don't relate to the game or drawn-out pre-game sections don't seem too popular. That seems reasonable since most people are most interested in the game itself.

My go-to group is Tabletop Tactics. Friendly personalities, fantastic armies and entertaining, well-produced videos. I think my only complaint would be there could be more variation in each army, throw some new, less competitive units in.

Tried Tabletop Titans, couldn't get past 10 mins. Just felt overall tedious watching them do every single movement live.

Miniwargaming is a bit too "meme-ish" for my tastes.

Also tried GMG as he's one of the very few who have Titanicus reports, although he was doing the obnoxious Knight-Charge tactic before it got FAQ'ed. Not a fan of his video quality. It's so roughly cut that I can barely make it out, like "...ok, that's the end of my Shooting Phase/andherewe'rebackinthechargephaseandmyguysfailedthecharge so let's roll for the next unit..."

The number one thing I want in a batrep video that people often don't do is for them to make it 100% clear who won.

I'm talking like, if I'm just scrubbing the video to the end I should still be able to tell who ended up on top. I shouldn't have to keep track of scoring on a notepad myself to know for sure which side ended up taking the game.

Tabletop Titans are the first of the bat rep channels I've watched from start to finish in years. I like to see what's going on and explanations along the way really make for an engaging video. Their production feels like the MtG pro-tours and I like that engaging feel behind the gaming.

In contrast, Tabletop Tactics should be at least similar but their banter gets in the way of the games more often than not and the Spider is the only one there that I feel is a really good player. I know a few folks have said they've cut down the banter a lot so may give them another go.

MWG I stopped watching after consistent rules mistakes and misplays. If you can't play the game thoroughly I don't think you should be filming it.

My opinion...

A) I look for a high level of casual play. I want people to bring armies that aren't the "top meta combo-wombo" armies, but i want them to play to the best of their ability.

B) About an hour (on average). Shorter is fine with good summaries; longer is fine with engaging personalities.

C) a focus on the game that keeps the action moving. Long time spent on rolling dice isn't fun; chat focused on non-40k stuff isn't fun.

D) A healthy respect for the game. Try to know the rules; have painted armies; have nice looking tables.

E) Good editing. It's entertainment, so focus on that. Bad cuts, bad audio, bad camera angles... all of these can quickly kill my interest in bat reps.

The list of channels I have watched:

1) Tabletop Titans (Pros: good armies, solid banter, great production values. Cons: very long reports, inane questions asked over livestream)
2) Tabletop Tactics (Pros: good armies, great production values, friendly personalities. Cons: sometimes the banter can get a little too silly)
3) Miniwargaming (Pros: lots of army variety, good tables, variety of hosts. Cons: some lack of rules knowledge, some complaining during the game by certain presenters)
4) 40k in 40mins (Pros: fast punchy games, good armies. Cons: sometimes the personalities are low energy)
5) Guerrilla Miniatures Gaming (Pros: I like Ash a lot, very engaged and personable. Cons: I find Owen grumpy and complainy)
6) Live and Lets Dice (Pros: Silly fun garagehammer. Cons: very low production value)
7) The Glacial geek (Pros: great personality, keeps the pace moving. Cons: low variety of armies, low production value)
8) Winters SEO (Pros: good variety of armies/opponents, pleasant personality, momentum. Cons: low production value)
9) StrikingScorpion82 (Pros: great armies, great tables, great production value. Cons: he fades out the verbal audio between each cut and it drives me insane)
10) Fresh Coast Gaming (Pros: good personalities, good armies. Cons: low production value, no longer making batreps)
11) Geeks Wargaming (Pros: diverse armies, decent tables. Cons: I find many of the personalities boring/low energy)
12) Hellstorm Wargaming (Pros: good armies, good tables, decent production. Cons: i find they complain too much about issues with the game)
13) Art of War (Pros: very knowledgeable. Cons: too tournament focused for me, boring camera angles)

So, I try to find a reason to like each channel. They all do some stuff well. I just decide what mood I'm in (painting, relaxing, background noise for chores, etc.) and choose the channel that best fits it.

Slipspace wrote:

 Cheex wrote:

One thing I really dislike is the army list overviews before the game. Put the lists in the video description and in the video itself, just point out the most interesting parts - the combos you are trying out, the interactions you expect to see, that sort of thing. I don't need players to pan the camera to every unit and go on about "we've got this unit with this upgrade, this upgrade and this upgrade...and here we've got this unit with these upgrades..." because dear god that is boring to me.

I agree. Unless you've got some really weird and interesting army list that needs a bit more explanation, or maybe if it's a new Codex, I can read the army list myself and probably figure it out just from a 10-second shot panning over the units. Tabletop Tactics go back and forth on this part of the format a lot so it seems like there are people that agree and disagree with me in equal measure. I have noticed they've reduced a lot of the banter in the pre-game talk now, which is good. There were some videos that had literally 20+ minutes of banter and army description before they even got to the mission.

What seems to be getting picked up on by everyone ITT is the necessity to use the time well in a batrep. Some people want really short reports of 20-30 minutes and others don't mind longer videos. In every case, though, it seems like what people hate is irrelevant stuff filling up the time. Endless banter, random questions that are either stupid or don't relate to the game or drawn-out pre-game sections don't seem too popular. That seems reasonable since most people are most interested in the game itself.

Funny, I really like this part of a batrep, I want to know what is being taken and why.

In short, brevity and humor.

When Frontline Gaming had their 30 to 40 minute, time lapsed batreps, those became my favorites, years back. The player would give a brief synopsis of what happened in the turn, then there would be a real time shot of the armies' positions at the end of turns, and then another zip through the next guy. I miss those.

Real time batreps are not fun. Watching dice rolls and movement is too long for spectating. And forced banter to fill the time ... yeesh. Even my shtick gets old. Some guys are great players, but shouldn't be in front of a camera.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:

PenitentJake wrote:
What do you look for in a Batrep Video?

Brevity.

HBMC, no plug for Priority Orders Discarded?

@all:
Here on dakka, he posts batreps as 'Twilight Pathways'. He keeps them at less than 15 minutes, shows a couple slides per player turn, with accurate narration, and great 9e, turn color coordinated score cards. They might not be optimum for 'game analysis' of tactics and strategy, but they do convey a overall sense of a general's plan and how units can function.

And humor. TP or PoD intersperses humorous clips from movies and TV, as old as "Odd Couple" with Matthua and Lemon to current shows. And he's good at timing on those, and his own narration, with an atrificial voice form Polly or google voice ... or something; it lends the narration a really nice kick.

 Brothererekose wrote:
HBMC, no plug for Priority Orders Discarded?

That link leads directly to his YT page.

For me, one of the biggest things is GET THE RULES RIGHT FOR GOD'S SAKE! I get frustrated when I see the players in a batrep do it wrong. I'm not saying I'm perfect when I play 40k; I know we're all only human and all that. But it's kind of a pet peeve of mine when guys in a batrep, particularly one that's geared toward competitive play rather than narrative or something, completely get some relatively basic rule wrong. For more "edge case" stuff and/or odd rules interactions it's more forgivable, but the core rules or major army-specific rules should always be followed correctly in a batrep.

And I'll echo some other posters in this thread and say that I really like when they post lists either in the video description or as text in the video. It helps me grasp what the lists are trying to do, and as a thought exercise I'll even try to figure out the combos and interactions before the players talk about them and/or use them in-game.

As for whose reports I like to watch, I'm a big fan of The Glacial Geek. He manages to make his batreps fun and interesting, although sometimes I'd rather see "sweatier" lists duke it out rather than the relatively soft fluffy lists he typically features. He spends about the right amount of time going over each list's composition, and explains the scenario objectives and lists each player's chosen secondaries before the game starts. That's very helpful.

 H.B.M.C. wrote:
Brevity.

Thank you HMBC for the continuing to rep the reps, it is much appreciated

 Brothererekose wrote:
In short, brevity and humor.
HBMC, no plug for Priority Orders Discarded?

The "Brevity" was a hyperlink to the channel
And thank you also Brother for the continued support! Will we see any reports from you in the near future?

As for my own contribution to the topic of the thread, the way I do reports (ultra condensed 10-15 mins) would be my preferred style to watch, but I'm not sure I've seen anyone else do that, so in reality I tend to prefer longer ones as I can put them on while painting etc without needing full concentration. Over 2 hours is just way to much for me though, I always end up skipping through or giving up. It's also very important to me that the reppers don't get the rules *too* wrong (obviously there's always mistakes here and there).

Just to put it out there, I'm learning about a lot of batrep channels that I had never heard of before on this thread. Thanks.

I enjoy the batreps made by Tabletop Tactics a lot, although Bone leaving is a huge loss.

1. Narrative. I don't want to just follow a game, I also want to enjoy it. Setting the stage with a cool narrative and narrating what happens during the game helps me feel immersed and engaged with the game and increases viewing enjoyment. Cool graphical and special effects also help.
2. An interesting match-up. I don't want to watch Ultramarines vs Dark Angels or Eldar vs Eldar.
3. After-action banter. I find it interesting to hear the player's views and opinions on the game afterwards. What was the plan, what went right what went wrong etc.

Brevity is optional for me. It depends on why I watch the batrep. If I watch a batrep because I want to follow a game, I want brevity. I want see the game and then still have time to do something else, not listen to two guys argue over rules or something like that for 10 minutes. Banter is nice, but don't let it slow down the pace of the game. Try to keep it to 30 minutes if possible. If it is longer than an hour, that is definitely too much.
But on the other hand, if I want to watch a batrep while I am assembling/painting miniatures then I don't care how long it is. I just want to listen to something to me immersed into the hobby.

PenitentJake wrote:
Thanks so much for all the responses and suggestions- I have a ton of new content to explore now.

I want to document our Crusade campaign on the youtubes; I know I can hit production values and really highlight the narrative. Unfortunately I'm a slow and weak painter, and I can't afford commercial terrain in addition to my models and books, so I'm making my own.

Some of the commentary here, aside from showing me what else I need to watch, will also give me some input on what I should aim for in my own batreps once I'm ready... If I ever get there.

I just started a YouTube channel about five weeks ago. My biggest suggestion if you are planning on starting a channel would be just to do your thing the way you feel most comfortable. As you can see from this thread, the things people look for in a batrep are extremely varied. The thing one person hates about one channel is exactly what makes another person love that channel. No matter how you present your batreps some people will not like them, but there is a good chance that others will like them.

I think the closest things to "universally" desirable features of a batrep would be good audio and a steady camera. I don't think anyone would ever complain if you had good audio and video, but there are definitely people who will turn your video off immediately if the audio is bad or the camera is super shaky.

When I started my channel I knew the sort of batrep I wanted to make, and I have been doing all I can to get the best audio and video quality that I can on my budget. I figure that if I have a consistent style people who enjoy that style will eventually find the channel and, hopefully, subscribe. People who don't like that style won't watch regardless of how good my production values are, so I don't worry about those people.

I would say of the bigger channels around my videos would be most similar to the style of Winters SEO. I have a handheld camera, and I move around the table to get different views. The focus is less on super competitive lists and more on narrative style games. I try to keep videos around 90 minutes. If that is your sort of thing you should check it out. It is called Slider Games. This is my most recent video: https://youtu.be/8Z5w6WR1ZEs

Being yourself(unless you suck more than an average human) is most important. Whether you are tourney-focused or so casual it hurts, just play your way of 40k.

 ArcaneHorror wrote:
Just to put it out there, I'm learning about a lot of batrep channels that I had never heard of before on this thread. Thanks.

My hope from this thread is that some people have discovered the word 'brevity'.