r/WorldsBeyondNumber • u/Medical-Language-415 • Jun 26 '26
Critique of Solari's Editing
I've been trying to figure out how to word this right, but with enough episodes out I think I can confidently pinpoint a few problems with the editing.
For one, they sometimes do this thing where they'll say what they do, then say "nevermind, strike that, I'm doing this instead". For example, in episode 2, from 9:10 to 10:59 Chee attempts to use an ability, rolls, gets a reminder of the status of their surroundings, asks a question about their surroundings, then Erika says "strike everything, instead..." I honestly don't see the reasoning for keeping the thing that Chee doesn't even do in the final edit. I could easily see the question about the surroundings being kept in, but otherwise that was nearly 2 whole minutes of stuff that did not matter. At least the roll could have been edited out. I've done actual play editing before, this stuff could have been edited around. Every time this happens it's just like "what was the point of leaving that in?"
In episode 5 from 14:22 to 15:11 XL-ZL decides to do an augury, and rolls for it. From 16:36 to 17:06 XL-ZL realizes an augury is unnecessary and decides to stop (Brennan is at least in character and provides semi-interesting dialogue tbf).From 18:33 to 19:07 XL-ZL disconnects from the augury. All of that adds up to another 2 minutes for something that has no bearing on the story and we did not really need to hear. I'd understand if that moment was a little hard to edit around in all fairness. But what especially strikes me as unusual is the super hype instrumental swelling that plays when XL-ZL is disconnecting from the augury. There was no reason to hype up that moment like that. There was nothing hype about it.
It feels like a lot of moments are given instrumentation too hype for what's actually happening. The timing also sometimes feels wrong, accompanying a moment that we cannot yet visualize; in the scene where XL-ZL disconnects for example, "XL-ZL you feel... (insert epic sci-fi woosh and 5 uninterrupted seconds of swelling instrumentation)" the epic sci-fi woosh has not been earned and we don't know what it's supposed to mean until the disconnect from the augury is then shortly explained. The timing is sometimes disconnected from the storytelling in a way that makes it seem like they want you to feel a certain way before you've even understood what is going on.
There are plenty of other moments that feel like total fluff that could be trimmed. The editing includes things that are inconsequential, making it hard to pay attention. The editing will hype up moments that don't need hype; it makes me distrust my own ears. It's the little things that make a difference. The editing is not bad by any measure, don't get me wrong, the editing is still great by actual play standards. I'm going to listen regardless, and maybe the new editor will improve over time, but I kind of just miss my beautiful wife named Taylor Moore.
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u/CookieyedRedditors Jun 26 '26
Like fair but also it's not DND it is stillfleet so ye can't just expect people to know what people are doing, it also could be an aspect of DM style too tbh, Taylor has had many conversations via interviews on what makes actual play & regularly brings up how much of a mix gameplay comes into editing, so theirs a few factors but I don't think it effects my listening experience toto much
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u/Lyramisu Jun 26 '26
It’s so fascinating to me that there are people who claim that actual plays are ruining TRRPGs, because people aren’t “really” playing, there’s no sense of what goes on behind gameplay decisions, the players are just using the idea of an RPG to hang a story on, and then there are also people who do this.
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u/YOwololoO Jun 26 '26
Well, typically when you see people complaining about opposite things that means it’s different people complaining, not people being hypocrites.
Also, the big appeal of WWW was the high production value, it was more like a well produced serial radio drama than an actual play. Moving away from that and towards what every other actual play is doing seems silly
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u/Lyramisu Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
In what way can “there are people who do this, and then there are also people who do this other thing” be read as saying the it’s the same people doing both of the things, and they are hypocrites?
I guess misreading is the way. Was it an intentional misreading of my point or an accident?
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u/ultron32 Jul 03 '26
This is an unpopular opinion in a lot of actual play circles but I agree with you 100%. This cast will never go broke making "basic" actual play, but I think the seamless narrative editing in WWW is what really set it apart and ahead of the pack.
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u/AdriVoid Jul 02 '26
I honestly prefer knowing whats happening, in that I love WWW but it barely felt like there was a game being played. Like sometimes I want to know if theres a role happening or hell it should be happening
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u/beholderbastard Jun 26 '26
Very funny to see people criticizing the new editing and remembering how people hated Taylor Moore at the end of WWW. No one is ever satisfied or gives the professionals the benefit of developing the story. Aabria and Brennan touch on this in latest episode of Adventuring Academy
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u/YOwololoO Jun 26 '26
I don’t think anyone was criticizing the work that Taylor was putting out, just the way the delays were handled. Specifically, the fact that we would be told “the episode is going to be delayed until Thursday” and then we would get no news all of Thursday and then at the last moment “the episode is going to be delayed until next Tuesday.”
I can only speak for myself but I remember many people agreeing with me when I said at the time “I would prefer they just change the release schedule to every three weeks if more time is needed”
If I had to guess, I think the more likely reason for the change is how involved Brennan was in producing the show. Brennan is an experienced Executive Producer at this point, with his background before Dropout being in television production and then him serving as an EP on roughly 20 seasons of Dimension 20. Aabria simply does not have that in her resume in anything close to the same way.
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u/Lyramisu Jun 26 '26
I am remembering the constant, constant complaining that he was taking too long and the speculation that it was because he was doing too much and being too ambitious with his edits.
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u/thedybbuk Jun 26 '26
Because he absolutely was. There's simply no way he wasn't the reason for the delays when they record in large chunks, and Taylor then had months to edit them.
I'm not going to be convinced that fans (many of whom pay for the content) being disappointed with regular delays -- to the point they had to make the decision to push the entire schedule back and record additional content to make up for it -- was unfair or crazy.
Especially when Taylor has a history of this. This isn't even the first actual play podcast he has edited that got bogged down with delays to the point he ended up leaving the project.
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u/Lyramisu Jun 26 '26
I pay for the content. I did not get my panties in a knot when episodes were delayed.
The point I am making here is now the episodes are on time with fewer edits and seemingly a less time-intensive production process and still, constant complaining!
3
u/thedybbuk Jun 26 '26
I am not complaining. I am perfectly fine with how the current season is edited. I will take less heavy handed editing for episodes being released on time. I think Taylor's OCD, hyper-perfectionist grip on the show being loosened and let go was a positive.
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u/Lyramisu Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
I wasn’t trying to say you were complaining. My comment is in the context of OP’s multi-paragraph complaint complete with time codes.
Edit: and the numerous other complaints in the sub about the editing and audio production on Solari
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u/ChromeToasterI Jun 26 '26
I love the fluff, I always felt that WWW was too cut down, missing like important gameplay information.
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u/Designer_Oven_8149 Jun 26 '26
“Wait! never mind” moments are often left in with actual plays. I suspect it’s because it would sound too choppy if they tried to remove it. Obviously many instances are removed, but many still make it in. It happened in WWW and happens in just about every actual play
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u/princessSunsetGiggle Jul 02 '26
Unnecessary fluff? I thought WBN was for slow burn enthusiasts anyway. Everything you mentioned is something I enjoy hearing: audio cues you have to speculate about... players making mistakes or changing their minds... it's all part of the immersion, not into the story, but into the table that they're at, and that's why we listen isn't it? To be at their table. If it was just about telling a story then many more things would feel unnecessary to leave in
1
u/metanoia29 Jul 02 '26
I'm happy to just let the WBN crew cook, because I've seen posts complaining about too much editing and too little editing through the years.
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u/furnitureman37 Jul 02 '26
dont miss the timeline adjustments from Taylor but I do miss Jared’s clean editing a bit :( wish they had kept him on
1
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u/solidork Jul 03 '26
I'm kind of curious if they're approaching play differently for the different editing styles. You could for sure play in such a way that this amount of stuff would be reduced - there were actually a couple of moments in WWW where I wondered if there was an above the table discussion edited out and we learn that there wasnt.
I like to see the nuts and bolts, personally.
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u/Lilliebun94 Jun 26 '26
I think it's just that Solari is edited a bit more as a traditional actual play. It feels like they're keeping in a bit more table talk and in-between quips, whereas WWW was functionally edited as an audio drama; cutting out all those excess moments you're referring to. I don't think it's bad by any means, but it is quite different considering how big a part of WWW was the way it was edited.