GCXI Changes & Improvements

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by dndgeek, Mar 28, 2018.

  1. Khasimir

    Khasimir Footpad

    Imagine Forum AB and C (sans the divider between AB and C), with a similar setup - high ceilings, no carpet, curtains similar to what were in Forum. AL took up half of that and would end their sessions (or at least that's what it seemed like) with someone getting on must must have been a portable mic/speaker and talking to everyone, culminating with all of AL cheering.
    All fine and dandy mind you, but each time it happened, it interrupted play in the other half of the hall because the sound was overpowering. The Con publicly apologized for it on social media.
     
  2. EOTB

    EOTB Level 0 Character

    One interesting bit is that I spent less money at the vendor tables than at any GaryCon previous. Most of the vendors sell old school stuff, it seems to me, but this year I couldn't just slip into the vendors area in the few minutes between games because of how far away they were from the forums. I did buy a couple of items during the one opening I had to leisurely browse, but impulse purchases weren't a temptation for me this year with the increased distance.
     
  3. Tink333

    Tink333 Footpad

    Interesting that your intent was to be divisive. Not at all the atmosphere GC or its owner promotes.

    Nothing for me to "get over," but you continue being divisive and dickish--kind of the antithesis of the hobby.

    There are administrative reasons why scattering organized play throughout the venue is impossible. But you know that.
     
  4. silas

    silas Chevalier

    I had a 6 hour AD&D game in the forum, and it went fine. Noise wasn't even that bad (but we were in the corner)

    That being said, the organized play should probably be moved to the forum for logistical reasons, It isn't anywhere near as loud as the convention space at Gamehole (or any other convention that uses convention centers)

    Now I like to play the new games as well as the old, although I don't do AL or PFS. Organized play should be welcome, although I DO understand the fear of some that we will suddenly get an influx of 2000 young new-schoolers who don't get hotel rooms, and who fill up the parking lots at convention space. They also tend not to use the table-side service or purchase drinks, etc. --they show up with energy drinks and granola bars in a backpack, and leave at 6pm. I have seen this at other conventions, especially when you get into the MTG crowd. I don't think we have the problem now, but ...

    GC has always been a "destination con", a big party of generally older gamers who can afford the outing. That could change as it gets more popular.

    I had a great time at GCX, and I thought the organization was very good. We didn't have any problem with event registration this year (that I know of), the line to get badges wasn't too bad (I just grabbed a beer and socialized while waiting).

    The only suggestions I would make

    1. Let's get a couple more bars open at the Grand Geneva on Wednesday and Thursday night --the place was understaffed and it was difficult to get a drink.
    2. Maybe have food out past the morning hours? (the sandwiches, etc.)
     
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  5. stahlnee

    stahlnee Spellbinder

    Had it happen during each game I ran. Definitely not running games again at GHC as a result.
     
  6. Chinasaur

    Chinasaur Level 0 Character

    Edwin you knucklehead. That was a one time mistake that was fixed. There are no other RPG’s located in the 25 thousand square foot hall that they are a part of. You know this. No need to disparage.
     
    Scott308 likes this.
  7. Melf

    Melf Administrator Staff Member

    Ladies and Gentlemen

    If we can’t have a civil conversation without the snarky comments and what I see as attempts to make others feel less included (and I mean old, new and even the LARP guys Jon!) then I’ll delete this thread and ask all of you to disperse.

    Let me say again loud and clear. All gamers are welcome! No one system is “better” than another. Historical board and miniatures games get love, OD&D, AD&D, PF, 5e, C&C, DCC, AS&SoH, HM, Dragonstrike, Rail Baron, Magic, Equestria. Its about Gaming and having fun. My Dad loved gaming and having fun around the table. Remember at one point D&D was considered a pariah amongst war gamers. Lets be a little more tolerant of people that choose to play a different system. Gary Con can accommodate many kinds of players. We have a great community so please don’t work to divide or create discontent.

    With that said, sincere and constructive criticism is most welcome! If something makes sense logistically and we can make that work send in your ideas! We as a staff welcome your great ideas to help make GC even more fun. Thank you for your support and patience over these many years.

    Sincerely

    Luke
     
  8. Scott308

    Scott308 Chevalier

    One thing I think is being overlooked by those calling for the AL to be moved to the forums is that it would actually cause more people having to go back and forth from Evergreen and the forums. The AL tables being moved would not provide enough space to allow all the tables from the forums to fit. I know I bounced around between Forums A&B and would have been none too pleased if I had to run back to Evergreen then back to the forum. Full disclosure, I do spend a fair amount of time in the AL room, but I expect to have to travel at that point, and generally try to schedule my AL games either at the beginning or end of the day.
     
  9. Jarlaxle

    Jarlaxle Troubadour

    Would the AL stuff fit where the vendor room was this year? (I forget the name.) Maybe put the LoW stuff back in Evergreen.

    I recall from 2 years ago that Evergreen was INCREDIBLY loud.
     
  10. Scott308

    Scott308 Chevalier

    I don't know. To be honest, this was the first time I didn't get into the vendor room at all due to being on the other end of the hotel for the most part, or having to run from the AL room to the forums.
     
  11. stahlnee

    stahlnee Spellbinder

    I lucked out and had the events I ran and played at one end and was able to spend a little time in the main dealers room. Did not make it to the other dealers rooms though. I was also happy that the LoW was moved down to the first floor which saved doing stairs a number of times.
     
  12. francisca

    francisca Troubadour

    Personally, I found the Forums a better place to run a game this year, compared to being in Evergreen, etc.. in years past. The curtains and high ceiling made for a much quieter area, and I never had to bring out the "football coach" voice. Sure, the walk sucked, but my fat ass needs the exercise, anyway. The only downside of being in there was really the hotel food service was a bit worse, and one of the tables was right by a service entrance, so hotel staff were constantly coming and going through the door. That was a bit distracting at times, but not to the point of being disruptive. So, I'm fine with general gaming being in more or less the same place, and AL can keep wherever they were.

    On the topic of improvements: Not happy with the speed and quality of the tableside food this year. Long, long waits, and in some cases, the servers were just too busy to make it to my neck of the woods in my four hour slot, as they worked their way through the room. This year's turkey wrap was about half the size of last year's, and I saw a fair amount of overcooked and undercooked pizza. YMMV.
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2018
  13. Jarlaxle

    Jarlaxle Troubadour

    Yeah, the pizzas were pretty much universally bad. All I saw were overcooked-mine was flat-out BURNED.

    I agree on service in the Forum: they simply did not have enough staff. Those they had were doing their best, but they were just overwhelmed.
     
  14. Steve Wright

    Steve Wright Level 0 Character

    A few thoughts in no particular order:
    • It would be cool to be able to send DMs thank you messages through the event system, though I suppose a message feature would be subject to abuse and probably get turned back off quickly.
    • Lacking that, I would like to be able to flag DMs in the event system and be able to search on them next year. (Call of Cthulhu game last year, D&D game this year that I'd love to be able to just subscribe to whatever those guys are running.)
    • The food was all right, and the table side service was very appreciated. If they were able to amp up quality and speed, I'd be even happier. One morning in the forum, one of the guys came around with a tray full of coffees all ready to go, and my table snapped up half of them. Be awesome to see more of that instant gratification food vending.
    • Happy hour on the half-hour (say 5:30-7:30) would give a chance to a few more people to use the red cup when they had evening games. (Had one that ran from 5-7 one night, and no beer for me. #GamerWorldProblems)
    • I felt bad for the people in the back vendor room, be interesting to know how their traffic numbers stacked against the main room. Like others, I had less time to mosey and shop thoughtfully, and had to be pretty quick and focused through the stalls. I think that was my fault, though, because I packed my schedule with gaming.
    • I enjoyed having the Adventurer's League there, because I don't know beans about 5e, even though a bunch of younger friends from work play all the time, and the two-hour Tier 1 sessions made excellent and educational schedule-filler for me.
    • I snagged a room in the resort this year that was between the Forum and the main space, so I got my steps in and was able to stop and change my loadout between games if I needed to. Fingers crossed for next year.
    • Impatiently waiting until next year!
     
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  15. dndgeek

    dndgeek Troubadour

    I know that DMs can contact players and, once they do, the DMs e-mail is given, so players can respond, but I don’t think all DMs would want their eMail address given out. If there was “show eMail address” checkbox in preferences or something, though, that allowed DMs to display their address or not, that might work.

    You can search for DMs by name in the search field right now.
     
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  16. stahlnee

    stahlnee Spellbinder

    I search for DMs by opening up a copy of the csv file, applying a filter to the DM column and then filtering on DMs I have enjoyed in the past. Only downside is that the csv files are updated daily IIRC.
     
  17. Steve Wright

    Steve Wright Level 0 Character

    Well, you know how it is - I'm a lazy software guy and I want a one click solution. :)
     
  18. gizmomathboy

    gizmomathboy Spellbinder

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  19. Steve Wright

    Steve Wright Level 0 Character

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  20. DTaylor

    DTaylor Level 0 Character

    Does anybody know if anybody in charge of Gary Con (Luke or one of the others?) even reads anything here on these forums?

    Over on another thread, a valid complaint/issue has been articulated, but there doesn't appear to be any official response (or even simply an acknowledgement).

    I know GC has become pretty large, and there's a ton of moving parts, and I'm sure at times it can feel like a full-time job. Still, it would be good for someone to consider the constructive criticism and/or ideas folks have for improving things.
     

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