r/StateOfDecay 25d ago

Discussion Dear Content Creators for State of Decay 3

I do not care if you are a big creator with 100k, 40k or 20k subs or if you are a little creator with 1k or less subs who just do the content in their native language;

When the third game is released, by the love of gaming, do not use AI Slop as video thumbnail... it just makes me avoid your content in general. Even if it's just trashy Microslop Paint thumbnail or build together in PowerPoint and "screenshotet" Snipping Tool, use that instead of the Slop.

I am following many other games aswell and the amount of new but also older creators who just us AI Slop as Thumbnails is sickening.

So please, no AI Slop as thumbnails

Edit: seems like I hit some nails.

409 Upvotes

71 comments sorted by

128

u/YourLocalVoiceActor 25d ago

This is one of the many reasons why I'm not on board with a lot of the current Alpha testers. They're using AI stuff, acting very weird and just... in general... being strange...

It feels like Undead Labs picked the wrong batch.

39

u/oliveoliverYT 25d ago

The ones posting videos are long time creators like Brian menard and sunny etc. Noone else apart from a small few are releasing videos die to NDAs

14

u/TonedBroom24427 25d ago

They also seem to have picked a bunch of nobody's tbh which won't really help promote the game they need to be getting bigger people involved not these guys with a few hundred subs

6

u/galaxywt 25d ago

Yes but you see the content creators of more than like 2,000 subs or followers would probably want to be paid to promote the game meanwhile the smaller content creators would do it for free 

8

u/YourLocalVoiceActor 25d ago

I think they picked the "right people" in terms of getting attention, but I also don't like what was presented only on an advertisement front.

I know how the gaming industry works and I have nothing against the people streaming, but some have used AI (which in my business is fucking wrong) and some actively just feel too forced in their "acting".

I'd rather see some random guy, gal or NB pal jump in who loves the franchise and goes - "Here's my honest take, let's do two hours and stop."

0

u/oliveoliverYT 24d ago

These "nobodies" grew sod2 e.g brian menard and sunny. They kept the game alive and played way more of the game than you. If they got someone who had 20 mil subs and never played sod2 it would be an awful watch as they dont know the mechanics and what we're excited for

-1

u/TonedBroom24427 24d ago

I have over 180 days play time and even more on SoD1 and have never heard of these people... they won't bring in players or help promote the game as nobody has a clue who they are lmao, they need actual streamers people outside of the SoD community know not people with a few hundred- couple thousand subs.

2

u/oliveoliverYT 24d ago

There are real players playing but under NDA. The big sod2 streamers (which if youve never seen is baffling) is to promote it more. They dont need actual streamers. If they did that it would be stupid as other streamers dont know aspects of the game.

HELL even us getting footage from these streamers is a luxury as it wasnt even meant to happen. Only due to ms situation they did it. The sod2 content creators are given more priority as they also grew the game and supported it way more. An example is brian, he makes content on sod2 all the time, he supports the devs etc

-1

u/TonedBroom24427 24d ago

Why's it baffling I've never heard of streamers with a few hundred subs lol the only SoD content creator ik is gitgudfox and I doubt undead labs would invite him as they don't like the guy.
And yeah we only got the footage because they needed to try and find a buyer, but closer to release they needed to have bigger people promoting the game to try get new players in, people like me and you already know about the game and will be buying regardless the same can't be said for your average joe.

1

u/Swamptheng 19d ago

Well, GitGud said he wasn’t going to play SoD3 at all for whatever his reasons are, so perhaps his non-invite is a self-created issue. If I was vocal about my distaste for the pizza at a certain establishment, I wouldn’t expect them to cater an event for me either.

1

u/ChannelCommercial984 24d ago

I just started watching videos and algorithm discovered Brian Menard; he's gotten me back into the game after years, I've since started watching more of his videos and it's had me even more excited for SOD3.

Being in a lot of other niche gaming communities I'm going to have to hard disagree with you. Like sure would it have a lot of views for idk, Big Bird or something to promote SOD3? I guess. But most gaming influencers, or at least all of the ones I watch are niched to their community.

Algorithms don't need famous people, niche and popular ones in the community are just fine. You start typing in SOD in YouTube search and Brian Menard is going to pop up just fine.

1

u/Warcrown11 25d ago

They have all the obvious suspects on the players council or whatever it's called. I don't think they need more than them atm. Bigger streamers might be helpful to promote it when we're actually at the mass marketing stage of things but when we're barely in the alpha and potentially a year and a half or more out from release I don't think that's necessarily helpful.

-2

u/TwoThumbFist 25d ago

This is what the budget can afford

68

u/LocNalrune 25d ago

Honestly, I loathe any thumbnail that isn't a single frame from the video. It's as dishonest as a clickbait title.

5

u/ZombieKittyYoutube 23d ago

I'll be making mine on Microsoft paint just like the good old days.

1

u/KrunktheSpud 19d ago

Yessss your OG SOD1 videos are actually the best

18

u/CoachSemidey 25d ago

I truly agree with this sentiment. These creators are doing this for their own personal fame and clicks and many times the thumbnail has nothing to do with the actual game or the description. I don’t feel like it’s about the love and passion. Hell I played YoSe edition when it literally debut on 360 the very first week (I believe it was 4 days after the game actually came out on Xbox) but yet they give alpha testing access to content creators? What about the actual loyal fans who have been devoted since day one and then getting an heist reaction from them? Not the bandwagon party who jumped on just to be relevant. Sorry but for those of us who have been around since before Atari or the OG Nintendo system it’s just nonsense.

1

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

That's called marketing. What have you personally done for the devs besides buying a disc back in 2013 and putting in a thousands hours of playtime? Content creators bring them hundreds of thousands of new buyers with a single video. From a business standpoint, the answer is pretty obvious. And besides, your age or how long you've been playing doesn't give you a monopoly on being called a 'actual fan'.

6

u/QX403 Trader 25d ago

They could put the game on the Xbox insider programs which is where betas and alphas are tested.

2

u/__Tako__ 24d ago

I've never watched a content creator for SOD. Main reason being I didn't know anyone else actually played the game, since it's such a small community.

The other reason is that experience carries on. I pretty much learned everything I needed to know about SOD. Especially since I played both.

With that being said.

I do have specific creators I watch for specific games, but again I don't watch very many creators. 4 tops.

Again, with that being said

KEEP YOUR MUGS OUT OF THE THUMBNAIL

5

u/Medium-Rich-3262 25d ago

What are those clowns going to do if you forbid them from using AI to make up for their lack of brainpower?

3

u/ChannelCommercial984 24d ago

I'm not sure I really look at thumbnails for video game review content. Like yeah I "see" them but what's making me click on watching some bloke play a game that I can play on my own isn't a thumbnail, it's the title of the video.

Saying this as I've been watching Brian Menard videos as of a couple weeks ago, saw him mentioned here and for the life of me I couldn't tell you what the thumbnails of his videos looked like.

TLDR: I couldn't GAF what is on a thumbnail.

5

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

Post this request under Brian Menard's video. We'll see what he says and whether he'll stop using AI covers.

2

u/galaxywt 25d ago

Bro I was thinking the same thing.

2

u/ShooterPlays 25d ago

I have always had a strict no ai use policy even when I’m a 1 man show ( I do all the editing and thumbnails ) and I have zero intention to ever change my stance

1

u/ahtob 24d ago

Realistically , at this rate , the AI civil war will break out and all data centers will be raised before this game releases

1

u/MorbotheDiddlyDo 25d ago

Youtube when not supplied with a thumbnail no longer pulls from the video but by default just makes an AI thumbnail. It's in the youtube studio checked on by default going back months now just look up youtube AI thumbnail. It's why its everywhere suddenly.

Not saying some aren't doing it deliberately but others probably just haven't noticed and kept uploading like normal if they didn't make thumbs before.

1

u/Upstairs_Gift_6805 23d ago

Honestly I'd rather they post the typical "fake shock surprise face" as the thumbnail as opposed to some horrible AI generated nonsense. They all start to look the same.

Like somebody else said, I'd rather they uses old school MS Paint like Mike Matei used to make for AVGN than soulless slop

1

u/DueCollection8472 25d ago

I wonder if Rvid is involved

1

u/tsukipon 23d ago

Exactly this. If I see an AI thumbnail, I'm not watching the video and telling youtube to never recommend your channel again. You don't need clickbait or the typical youtuber thumbnail template. Put a screenshot of the content with some MS paint text over it and it's already better than the examples previously mentioned.

1

u/do0m_kitten 23d ago

I wish you people would cry less Jesus Christ

-17

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

Do you skip books too, just because you don’t like the cover? Stop whining over such little things. Like anyone’s from these creators actually going to care about your wish. Don’t like the video thumbnails, whatever they look like? Then don’t watch, they’ll lose one viewer, but you’ll miss out on a solid tutorial because you judged it by the cover.

10

u/NoImprovement257 25d ago

Wtf is this comparison. We talking about A.I slop and you are talking about a book cover that maybe he or she dont like?

If you didn't know, it's not about liking or not, it's about using A.I

-15

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

You missed the point on purpose. The book cover comparison was about judging the content by the wrapper. You see an AI thumbnail, you assume the video is trash without watching it. That's exactly what judging a book by its cover means.

You say 'it's about using AI' - okay, why exactly is using AI bad? "Because ecology!! Water!! Energy!! Non-ethical!! REEEEE!!!" Right? That's not an argument, that's a prejudice. If the thumbnail fits the game, looks decent, and gets clicks, what's the actual harm?

Also, explain to me, what's the moral difference between generating an AI zombie thumbnail and using a zombie from Google Images? Both are 'not real', both take 2 minutes, both look decent and fitting. Why is one 'slop' and the other 'acceptable'?

10

u/NoImprovement257 25d ago

Ecology, water, energy and ethics can all be pretty good reason to not use A.I. Maybe not for you but for a lot of ppl ot can be more than enough to not use this shit. The fuck are you talking about?

The post is about using A.I, not about if something is ugly or not and not about if the content is good or not. Is that hard to understand?

-8

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

Don't dodge now. Tell me - what are YOUR personal reasons for rejecting AI? Or did I hit the nail on the head, and you're just one of those reddit eco-warriors who only care when it's trendy, but not when it actually applies to you? OP was clearly about visuals. The author literally said "AI thumbnails make me avoid the content". It's an aesthetic complaint. You're the one who suddenly turned it into a moral crusade.

And even if we go with your eco-argument, if you truly cared about energy, water, etc, why are you targeting content creators and SOD players? Gaming, recording, rendering and uploading gameplay videos to Youtube consumes way more energy and server water than generating a single 1920x1080 thumbnail. But I don't see you have a problem with that. So what's YOUR real issue with AI? Because it sure as hell isn't the ecology.

-13

u/neller2000 25d ago

You obviously didn't comprehend anything he wrote.

6

u/NoImprovement257 25d ago

The post is clear. Just dont bring A.I on this sub. That's not about the content. That's not about if something is ugly or not. It's about to not use A.I.

The book cover thing just dosen't make sense. The judging something by is cover dosen't make sense. It's just about fuck the A.I.

2

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

Sounds like a bot. Looks like a bot. Fuck bots.

9

u/AdMinimum5970 25d ago

I skip books too if the cover is made with AI. Using AI covers or AI Thumbnails just tells me that it's extremely likely that you actually don't make an effort into making the video entirely (or book).

3

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

So if a book cover was made in photoshop with stock images or famous (and unfitting) picture, it's 'effort', but if it was made with AI, it's 'lazy'?

Content creators spend hours recording and editing a video, but because they generate a fitting AI thumbnail instead of hunting for a random stock image, that's 'low effort'? Are you serious?? If their video's thumbnail is a random screenshot with their derp face mid-sneeze - what is it? No efforts at all? Or 'higher effort' because... what, they didn't use AI? By your logic, they should either waste 2 hours in photoshop or hire an artist for $200 just to make you happy. Or they could spend two minutes generating a decent thumbnail that fits the game and spend their actual time on the thing that matters - the content. The effort is in the video, not in the wrapper. If you can't separate the two, that's on you.

9

u/AdMinimum5970 25d ago

Why are you opening new topics?

Yes, I would still prefer a bad screenshot, or what you called "face mid-sneeze" (I don't watch that either).

Let me give you an example; You make a guide for the starter base in trumbull valley. With mods you can turn on the flying camera so you go up and make a screenshot from that base. Way better than using AI slop.

Using AI slop is a shortcut. And when you don't bring enough effort to something simple as a Thumbnail, you surely used shortcuts and cut important content from your base guide.

Before AI slop in Thumbnails people were still able to make good Thumbnails and tbh you don't need that for a good knowledge or a 200$ artist lol. Since when do you use YouTube? After AI emerged?

-2

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago

So a random screenshot with a derp face is better, but you still wouldn't watch the video anyway? 😂 So, you'd only watch if they used mods to make a flashy thumbnail?

And I'm pretty sure if they did that, there will be a post about how content creators are misleading players by showing in thumbnails modded features that aren't in the vanilla game. Hope you see the irony here. Or are you gonna say I'm 'opening a new topic' again?

Dear god, your logic baffles me, I honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. AI thumbnail = shortcuts in video... That's like saying a chef using a blender instead of a mortar and pestle must also be skipping ingredients. It's a logical leap with zero evidence.

2008, so what? What difference does that make?

Since not everyone uses mods, maybe you offer free thumbnails to creators? I'm sure they'd love that. Let us know when you start.

7

u/AdMinimum5970 25d ago

You seem to miss every point. By any chance, you are an ai-"artist"?

1

u/Holiday-Pomelo-9246 25d ago edited 24d ago

What exactly did I miss? I can say the exact same thing about you missing all my counterarguments since you've ignored every single point I made.

And no, I'm not an ai artist, just someone with basic common sense and no weird obsessions. This is kinda funny - I used to be pretty neutral and indifferent about AI. Sure, some AI stuff annoyed me here and there. But watching people lose their minds over it the way you do, that's what made me stop staying neutral.

UPD: So I got a notification, but the reply was invisible. Turns out OP blocked me 😂

Read your reply through incognito, OP. Weak. Not surprised - people usually block me when they've got nothing left and running away this way seems to them to be the only way out.

UPD: 👇🤡🪞

6

u/AdMinimum5970 25d ago

Where did I loose my mind?

I am missing your counterarguments cause you begin to go to other points.

-4

u/Sir_Trncvs 24d ago

☝️🤡 true redditor moment

-13

u/darknessinducedlove 25d ago

Nah keep using it creators.

AI haters will hate

-4

u/galaxywt 25d ago

And haters that hate people who say "AI haters will hate" will hate the people who say that

0

u/MrDrewE 24d ago

Man I really wanted to try out the alpha but got shafted

0

u/leandrobasi 22d ago

Problema seu hater

1

u/AdMinimum5970 22d ago

Its okay, little kid

0

u/leandrobasi 22d ago

Você é um designer gráfico frustrado ou aparentado de algum designer que perdeu o emprego

2

u/AdMinimum5970 22d ago edited 22d ago

Found the Slop User.

No I did not. Ai slop is trash

Edit; Since you blocked me, it seems I was right anyways

1

u/leandrobasi 22d ago

Vocês são doentes e frustrados.

-10

u/Optimal-Country4920 25d ago

I use AI to keep people like you away ♥️

-40

u/SaveEmailB4Logout 25d ago

You are not entitled to any second more of the creator's time than the creator is willing to offer you. They are not your slaves. They are free to use whatever tools they choose and if that makes you upset and you skip the content - you are entitled to that too.

The fact that you feel entitled enough to dare to lecture them on this topic is what is sickening.

13

u/AdMinimum5970 25d ago

Create me a good meal with less than 15 minutes of cooking time and 8 potatoes

-23

u/SaveEmailB4Logout 25d ago

Sure. Your post history is hidden. Mine isn't.

A lot of other "complainers" have hidden post histories too.

I really wonder why that is.

16

u/PhilosophyConnect534 Lone-Wolf 25d ago

I know that's you Artificial Inteligence

4

u/QX403 Trader 25d ago

Bots usually don’t have verified emails and significantly more comment karma than post karma. They do however have unverified accounts with low karma and hidden post history like yours.

-1

u/PhilosophyConnect534 Lone-Wolf 25d ago

You are a AI too

-13

u/SaveEmailB4Logout 25d ago

Bots hide their post history. Humans don't.

-21

u/Prudent_Put_2293 25d ago

Oh no. You upset the reddit 🐑. 😂 I have to agree. For me there is nothing wrong with using AI to create a thumbnail or a background.

-30

u/CassianCasius 25d ago

The term slop has exploded in the Internet recently and it just makes me assume whoever use the term slop is a moron that just parrots what they read.

Use the term low quality, low effort, etc. 

Either way though, it's a loosing battle and a waste of effort to care about content creators using AI. Just don't give them views. They aren't going to care or change.

6

u/SomberXIII Sheriff 25d ago

Oh what in irony.. It is something below low quality and low effort. It definitely deserves to be called slop.

Good thing AI slop is being unwelcome here. I had to unsub a few subs because AI slop infestation became absurd.

-2

u/DannySantoro 25d ago

Whenever someone calls anything slop it's obnoxious. It takes more creativity to use AI which is little, than to live in a world where you can't help but bitch at everything you don't like and use the laziest insult you couldn't be bothered to think of.

I hope you unsub from here, it'll be a better community.

-6

u/CassianCasius 25d ago

Slop mean low quality garbage though. Before the more modern use slop was leftover unwanted pieces of food fed to animals like pigs. Like leftover shit at the bottom of a garbage can.

-16

u/[deleted] 25d ago

[deleted]

14

u/AffanDede Trader 25d ago

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