Theme Week - I am a First Gen

[Triller 1,663]

Sorry, I am New Here!

 

     After seeing an ad read on a YouTube video that autoplayed, I ended up here at the VHL.  I had never been a part of any sim league before but I figured I would check it out!  I joined up but didn't create a player right away as I wanted to lurk and see what people were creating and to see if I could bring anything exciting to the table.  With my skill set in 3D cinematics, I thought I could do something pretty cool that maybe hadn't been seen before on this site.  Even before creating my player, I did a quick test to see if I could come up with something in 3D that could work going forward.  That was my profile banner and avatar image!  Once my test worked, I created Leonard Triller and began the (maybe) overly ambitious plan of two graphics a week.  Still going strong!

 

     

 

     Now that I had my player it was time to figure out who to sign with, how the site worked and how to earn more TPE, once I figured out what TPE was.  After browsing the teams initially, I decided I would sign with Saskatoon if they offered.  Luckily, @Bulduray_1 posted for the Wild.  I chose the Wild because I lived in S'toon for about 2 years and really enjoyed it and thought it would be an extra cool layer of immersion.  @Bulduray_1 was kind enough to answer all of my questions and set me off in the right direction as well as always reacting to my content.  It was very much appreciated!  I worked on my graphics and also made some to help pick up waiver players in a system which is now obsolete! 

 

Death of the hashtags!

 

I was using the forums often trying to draw some attention to my contributions while also recognizing others.  Unfortunately, some turmoil was going on and a lot of attention was given’ to posts that were fueling controversy.  It was a bit disheartening to see these things dealt with so publicly while those putting in a lot of effort to make the forum content fun were falling by the wayside.  Bans were handed out and things moved on, as they always do.

 

     After the season in Saskatoon I got to experience some of the off-season tournaments like the JST.  It was nice to see that the off-season events helped keep newer people engaged and still earning TPE.  @RElblein drafted my player to the Royals where I got more involved in Discord and the LR.  I am not a big fan of all the Discords but if I focus on only a couple, I can manage!  Everyone seemed to get along and it made for a good experience which was in large part due to @RElblein.

 

 

     Next up was the draft.  This was a more exciting event than I thought it would be!  Having all the GMs reach out for interviews was an awesome way to meet some new people or at least chat with them.  I had a good chat with @Enorama and he filled me in about the streams and got me to tune in!  It was great to see, and I want to thank all of you involved for the time and effort put in.  By this point, my graphics were getting more attention and my player had some recognition.  It was awesome to be picked though it seems I caused some confusion by wanting a full season in the VHLM after hitting 200 TPE in the offseason.  A big thanks to @jacobcarson877 of my current team, the Marlins and my future teams, Geneva Rush with @MexicanCow123 and @Dil with London United for having no issues with how I wanted to make my players transition into each league.  I look forward to playing with Geneva next season and hopefully London for the seasons after!

 

     This season has been great with the Marlins.  @jacobcarson877 keeps an active LR and it is a great place to get involved.  Very helpful with TPE advice and making sure everyone gets good play time in the sims.  The playoffs are going to get crazy!

 

 

     So far, every conversation I have had on the forums and in Discord has been very positive!  I appreciate everyone who has reached out about my graphics just to let me know it is being seen and is enjoyed.  I get TPE for doing it but the comments and reactions really fuel me to keep going.  It has pushed me to engage further with others on the forum to make sure they know their work is being seen as well.  In this regard, I want to shout out @BOOM for always being active on my posts, along with @Pifferfish and all the current and even former Marlins for showing their support!  There are many others who have reached out to chat on the forums and discord and I appreciate it!  Same to everyone who reacts or even just takes a look at what I do.

 

So that is my experience with the VHL so far and now that I have had some time here, I have a few concerns moving forward.

 

• I fear burnout and I need to start considering a more leveled approach to my earning if I am going to last 8 seasons!  It takes a lot to make 3D graphics and doing it twice each week is going to be too much.  I need to work on tossing in writing tasks that I can claim for multiple weeks though I don't really like that as it means I am less engaged on a week to week basis and just popping in to claim on an old post.
• I have a couple large ideas that would take a few weeks to create but I wouldn't be able to max earn while working on them.  What I want to do is worth more than a 6 TPE graphic or media spot and could be claimed for weeks afterwards but wouldn't make up for the lost weeks spent working on it since you can't claim back weeks.  I am also not a fan of claiming the same post for too many weeks after as it just lowers my engagement with the forums.  That's just me though and I need to adjust my thinking there.  What should I do with these bigger ideas?
• Another concern, is the most exciting part of my players career over?  The draft!  The draft was fun and engaging but is done so quickly.  After this season, I head to Geneva then to London which will be fun but will anything be as exciting?  I hope to win some championships and feel that rush if it comes!
• Review tasks.  This is how I max out every week at the end but it is getting very repetitive.  I try to sincerely review and give advice where I can but there are only so many users who post graphics and I am going to be quite annoying after reviewing the same persons work over and over again for 8 seasons.

 

Some things that could be better but I haven't thought too hard or long about?

 

• The forum is what it is and as someone who is a bit older, I am used to navigating through forums.  Stating that, it will definitely be a bit convoluted for younger members and depending on what you are looking for, complicated for everyone.  I don't dare dip a toe into trivia.  Fixing this would involve an overhaul in my opinion as building on a flawed base creates the same instabilities as before but reorganizing and better highlighting the most important places is a must.
• Character builds and the "proper" distribution of TPE needs to just be locked down.  If there are attributes that seemingly do nothing and everyone has universally agreed that no points should go to them, have them automatically maxed out and made invisible.  No need then to tell every new member to redo their build because they made a wrong choice without knowing it.  I made the wrong choice early on but will not re-roll.  I'm not concerned about my player but I am a bit disappointed in the lack of unique builds that this creates.
• Point Tasks are next.  There was recently a bit of a change with career point tasks which was nice but after only a couple seasons, the repetitive nature of the point tasks are becoming quite evident.  I am attempting to be a max earner and love doing graphics but I am starting to struggle with different ideas to keep things fresh and without other significant task options,  I need to do my best to try not to fall into a bare minimum slump and to mix things up where I can.
• This may be just me but I wish the VHL stats were more comprehensive.  I want to know who my player plays best with.  The most points I have while playing with certain players or against.  What my point production is when playing on different lines.  I think these kinds of stats could create a very fun way for GMs to plan matchups and line chemistry that could create natural rivalries between players or help a GM to possibly trade for players who had good chemistry on other teams with other players.  I am still bad at using the index so if this is a thing, please point me in the right direction.

 

     If it sounds like this was put together through multiple 4am baby feedings then you'd be eerily correct, but I would like to thank everyone involved that keeps this place running and engaging.  It can be a thankless task you do and at times it likely ruins your day, but know that you are appreciated and that this first gen is thankful for the time you put in!  Let's see how long I will last!

 

(1500+ Words)

Weeks Ending: 12/11, 12/18, 12/25

Edited December 11, 2022 by Triller

[BOOM 8,758]

I'm pretty sure I'll always be a willing viewer of your posts. Impressive and adds a new dimension to the gfx posts. Keep up the great work. 

[Pifferfish 512]

Appreciate the shout out @Trilleryour graphics are fuego my dude. Yeah I think the fact that writing can multi claim and graphics are every week makes it tough. 

Maybe like a 6TPE graphic then a 2 week multi Media Spot article would be the best balance. Just because you are active 2 of the 3 weeks and you get that little break. Or just swapping to doing a .com Article for 2 TPE and focusing your graphics to the 6 TPE side would help. I only offer these suggestions bc you getting burned out would be a great loss for the VHL and I don't want to see that.

[Triller 1,663]

Claiming for 12/18

[RElblein 36]

@TrillerYou were awesome to have on the JST team! Keep up the good work! 

[Triller 1,663]

Claiming for 12/25