plusx2a
Strategicon/RPG Section Staff
Join me at Gamex 2014 Memorial Day Weekend May 23 - May 26
Posts: 238
Preferred Game Systems: Savage Worlds, Modiphius 2d20, FATE, PbTA
Currently Playing: Legend of the Five Rings, Cortex
Currently Running: Savage World of Solomon Cane, Modiphius Conan
Favorite Species of Monkey: Spider
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Post by plusx2a on Sept 8, 2015 13:03:53 GMT -8
Hello everyone. Thanks so much to those who attended this year’s Gateway! As usual I want to do a little wrap up of the con and ask for your feedback. Before I do, I wanted to re-post this below statement and make sure it reaches as many people as possible.
“I just wanted to follow up here to make sure everyone has the contact information for Tanya and Eric Aldrich who are responsible for the website and the convention in general. I repeat my plea. If you have had ANY issues with the website at all, please send a message to the three e-mails listed below. The board is pushing for a new website that is more stable and easy to navigate. We are set up to go forward with this project and have a web designer ready to implement a whole new site, but there still may be some people in the Strategicon organization standing in the way. Help us make this change by letting your voices be heard! This should be the last push we need to guarantee a favorable outcome.
stratcon_webmaster@strategicon.net stratcon_conman@strategicon.net stratcon_rpgs@strategicon.net “
That being said, let’s move on to the Gateway itself and go over what went well and what didn’t.
First of all I had 149 events after some last minute add-ons actually at con. That is more than what I had at Orccon and it was a challenge with the new space. Few games had problems filling (since we hit over 2000 attendees this time around) and I had an all weekend DnD event that seemed to go well.
The 2nd floor San Lorenzo rooms seem to have worked well. I had to cram in up to four tables in the larger rooms to even come close to having the same number of tables available compared to the lower lobby area. I feel the space is far more visible and comfortable in general, but I would love to hear about your particular experiences in the rooms. I only played one game and it seemed to work fairly well with the noise level being manageable. I still have that rod and drape available and I can use it if it is called for.
My HQ was ok but needs some work. At Orccon 2016 I am going to move all of the binders, sign ups and so on to another table outside the boardroom. The traffic coming in and out of there seemed to get in the way of the games going on IN the room itself.
The mass of humanity I had piled up in front of my HQ for signups was incredible. I really appreciate how everyone kept it orderly and polite. I will probably repeat the line system next con to keep the mob at bay. I will keep the binders in the boardroom like it was for this process. Once the mob abates the binders will be moved out. Otherwise the process seems to have gone fairly smoothly with very few hiccups.
I am going to come up with some new signage since I had to make due with a heavily edited form of my last foam core poster. I also want to set up some signage to direct people to Adventurer’s League and PFS since there seems to always be some confusion as we go. Mostly due to the fact that they usually don’t have any room listed in the con book.
The food and drink situation did not cause any problems this time around. I appreciate your discretion and cooperation on the matter. I loved the mugs. Brilliant.
What did you think? Any questions or concerns? Let me know.
Jim Sandoval RPG Supervisor Strategicon Conventions
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tomes
Supporter
Hello madness
Posts: 1,438
Currently Running: Dungeon World, hippie games, Fallout Shelter RPG hack
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Post by tomes on Sept 8, 2015 19:07:57 GMT -8
On my end, this was such an excellent con. I really liked the new rooms, and even though there is conflict with some of the audio-based games (of which I myself am a culprit), I think it works much better here than down in the dungeon. The AC was much better (although far from optimal). I ran two games "off the books" but in the San Larenzo rooms: Five of us were free at 10pm on Friday night, so I decided to run an ad hoc game. We went looking for rooms for a while, with everything completely packed on level 2, everywhere. I started at 11pm down in the dungeon cause one big room was empty, but it was booked for Werewolf, so about an hour in we had to vacate. Fortunately around midnight the San Larenzos are mostly empty, so we grabbed one of those until 2:30am or so. Same thing the next night, where about 9 of us were free just before midnight, and we took over a San Larenzo for about 3 hours of play. Both of those were for the Dread: Mad Max Fury Road games. Not sure if you want those for your records. :-) And as always, thanks plusx2a for the excellent management on your end!
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Post by Stu Venable on Sept 8, 2015 20:07:19 GMT -8
The accommodations in the rooms was great. No complaints.
It would be nice if you had larger or more tables for the clip boards listing games for the upcoming time slots. It was difficult to just get close enough to find my game so I knew which room to go to.
I would also be nice to be able to take the sign up sheet with me to the room when it's time to start (rather than wait for it to be brought). We had two people late to my Saturday game, and I would have taken alternates to start on time. As it was I waited 15 minutes to start (there was a broken elevator or something).
The sign up sheets showed up much later, so if there was someone in the wrong game or someone who wasn't even signed up, I wouldn't know it until the game was already going.
Small complaints. Otherwise it was a well-run con. (applause)
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plusx2a
Strategicon/RPG Section Staff
Join me at Gamex 2014 Memorial Day Weekend May 23 - May 26
Posts: 238
Preferred Game Systems: Savage Worlds, Modiphius 2d20, FATE, PbTA
Currently Playing: Legend of the Five Rings, Cortex
Currently Running: Savage World of Solomon Cane, Modiphius Conan
Favorite Species of Monkey: Spider
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Post by plusx2a on Sept 9, 2015 9:31:18 GMT -8
Thanks Stu. I agree that I need more room for the clipboards. I will be expanding the outside of the HQ to accommodate more tables for clipboards and binders. It will alleviate some cramped mess and make it easier to game in the boardroom.
I can change the procedure to have GMs take the sign in sheets. The issue I have with that is that often a GM will not necessarily check the HQ before heading out to his table. How about I notify my staff to allow GMs to pick up their sheets if they want and have the delivery be a backup?
-Jim
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Post by mook on Sept 9, 2015 10:44:19 GMT -8
Overall things were smooth enough, and as always I applaud you for all your efforts on our behalf, Jim! The website eating pre-regs is just an all-out "NO, this should not happen," and I have already sent my email to the above addresses. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. For the sign-up books, I wonder if it wouldn't help to separate them out by day, like all in the same area but on different tables or something? So the three people looking for Sunday games don't have to wait in line with the dozen people looking for the games that start in an hour. Of course, that would cut into your space even more. As a side note, I popped into the gaming library to donate a hard copy of "How to Be a GURPS GM," and the young lady working the table was extremely gracious and sociable, and the collection is a lot bigger than I expected! My biggest issue remains the sound levels in the rooms, the eternal quandary. The smell seemed better this weekend, unless I'm just getting used to it, but I feel like having the enclosed walls and so-much-lower ceilings actually made things louder for most games. May not be a popular opinion, but I do think the curtains would help here (or would at least be worth trying to see). I only GMed once in a San Lorenzo room, with two tables, and I felt like the sound bites/music I was trying to play were either "too soft, players can't hear anything" or "OMG that's way too loud, you're drowning out the GM at the next table." (Speaking of, Stu, I hope we didn't affect your game too much... I was trying to keep the players in check, but they were a bunch of animals ) Of the three games I played in an SL room, one had two tables and was fine (the other table only had four players, and spoke in normal conversational tone), one had two tables and was wretched (the other table of six sounded like frat boys on parade, and I could barely hear anything from our GM), and the last had four tables, which was mostly just white noise for the first three hours until two of the other games ended early, then I could finally hear the GM and understand what was going on in the game. Please note that these are just observations I'm throwing out, because I don't see any obvious solutions to the sound issue, and I know you're doing the best you can with what you have. The only real solution would seem to be "different venue," but A) that doesn't seem like an option until 2020 at the earliest, and B) then I would just be bitching because I had to travel farther than LAX. EDIT: I see you replied while I was typing my long-windedness. My only note to the GMs would be, naturally, don't take your sign-up sheet off the table if you still have open slots.
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Post by Bill Roper on Sept 9, 2015 11:41:16 GMT -8
Overall it was a great con and you did a fantastic job of balancing the needs (and idiosyncrasies) of a passel of RPGers. Kudos and great thanks for your continued efforts on our behalf.
I will agree with the sound challenges in the rooms. I felt it was less about how games were in each room and more of the limited space for disparate sound to co-exist. I was in a room where 2 of the GMs were using sound and music within the game and it could get distracting pretty quickly. I think everyone tried to show respect and courtesy, but when someone says, "Well, it sure sounds like your players were having a lot of fun over there." there's more than just a compliment as to the entertainment value of the game being shared.
That being said, it wasn't THAT bad, and no one walked away from any game I was in (or heard about) saying they didn't have a great time even with the sound bleed issues. Hell, the amount that people talk in movie theaters these days makes me crazy, but no one ever says anything, so maybe we're all getting used to noise pollution in our entertainment?
I'm sending off my "PLEASE update / upgrade your website" email next (productive lunch is productive) and am already thinking of what game to run that will be worthy of the BOARD ROOM SLOT YOU PROMISED ME!
Final Note: Please get us out of the LAX hotels. I know there is probably a convenience issue and I am well aware of all of the cost concerns, but the idea of not being so damn close to the airport and having more choices for food and beverage makes my heart all swoony.
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Post by mook on Sept 9, 2015 11:56:10 GMT -8
I wonder if the con has any kind of stats on how many attendees fly into LAX, and how many just drive in? I wouldn't think the flyers were more than a very small minority, but I could be wrong.
For 3.5 days I pretty much only eat ordered pizza, processed snack foods, and thrice-overpriced room service (which is to say, those weekends I am actually eating healthier than usual).
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Post by yeknom on Sept 9, 2015 12:31:25 GMT -8
As a relatively faraway listener, I would eventually like to try attending one of these LAX cons. I would just have to sit down and figure out how much everything would actually end up costing me when all is said and done.
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plusx2a
Strategicon/RPG Section Staff
Join me at Gamex 2014 Memorial Day Weekend May 23 - May 26
Posts: 238
Preferred Game Systems: Savage Worlds, Modiphius 2d20, FATE, PbTA
Currently Playing: Legend of the Five Rings, Cortex
Currently Running: Savage World of Solomon Cane, Modiphius Conan
Favorite Species of Monkey: Spider
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Post by plusx2a on Sept 9, 2015 13:36:22 GMT -8
Mook & Bill
I appreciate you providing some feedback on the website matter. I hope there are many more e-mails to follow. JiB, I am looking forward to your well worded yet vitriolic assault on our website.
I will see what I can do about the HQ tables and books. I don't want to eat up the entire hallway with stuff, but the need to have things more spread out and easier to access is good.
In my opinion, the two advantages of the new rooms are A) Air conditioning is far more stable. B) They are uniformly well lit. I knew that the more compact space would lead to more noise, but that's the rub right? Big open wide space with a ton a tables or smaller more segmented spaces with fewer tables just make a different type of noise, but you can’t really avoid it. Unfortunately, I feel that it's not a problem that will ever satisfy everyone. Outside of having individual rooms for every game, which is cost prohibitive for just about any convention, there is no real way to go about it so that there are no noise difficulties. Unfortunately, I am afraid that sound enabled games are going to be the most affected by this. Which is a shame because it adds so much to the ambiance of a game.
As for the LAX hotels. Trust that the space crunch is being felt and that we know that these venues will no longer be able to suit us. Since it is likely we will have to move to convention space, there may be little to no choice either way as to what kind of space we get. Convention centers by and large have big exhibition spaces and few smaller spaces. I expect there will be a fight over the smaller rooms, if there are any available.
We are in a bit of a tough spot on this issue. We are too big for a large hotel like the Hilton, but our budget is not quite so large as to allow for something like the Anaheim convention center. We are forced to look at places like Pasadena, Long Beach and Ontario. I am certain that many of us will have their favorites, but here are other issues.
Our timetables are also a bit of an issue. The venue will have to have enough open space on three holiday weekends. That is a bit difficult since those are generally times that are a bit harder to book. This leaves us with the few options, unless we want to hold Orccon, Gamex and Gateway at different venues. I really don’t like that option at all.
We need a place that can be open 24 hours. One of our biggest draws is that you get 78 hours of con for $50. There are several very popular games that go on all night and many that run into the wee hours of the morning. Having to go to a place that shuts its doors at 10pm would be suboptimal for us. Places that are a little “outside the box”, like college campuses are therefore out of the question.
Having the hotel rooms near but not adjacent poses some issues since we will have people travelling from the convention space to the hotel late at night or early in the morning. Once again the late night gaming can cause some security issues if attendees are forced to walk around Ontario at 2 am. There are options available for us like having some space at the adjoining hotel for certain late night games, but that poses another logistical and scheduling issue.
Convention center space is actually quite expensive, even for the smaller centers I mentioned. Although we might be able to get by with our current level of activity (drawing at or over 2000 people a con), there is a significant chance that moving our venue somewhere that is significantly distant from our current location will cause a dip in attendance. Depending on the severity of that dip, we will have to consider running at a deficit until our numbers re-adjust. A miscalculation on our part would be catastrophic since the convention pretty much just supports itself and we have no outside sources for revenue. Once we run out of money we would have a difficult time bouncing back, especially if we are on a contract.
We currently have some very capable people on the board of directors. Many of which have been lifelong friends of mine. Please trust me when I say that our singular goal is to provide the finest gaming conventions on the west coast and are working hard towards that goal. That being said, I appreciate any and all feedback and suggestions from all of you and I will be sure to forward any thoughts, ideas and concerns to those who can act on them.
Jim
P.S. yeknom02 - If it at all helps, I am happy to provide a badge if you run a couple of games. It's probably the cheapest thing about the trip considering room, food and flight, but it's at least something. Hotel rooms run about $109 a night.
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Post by mook on Sept 9, 2015 14:10:47 GMT -8
I really appreciate your transparency with us, Jim. I hadn't even thought of issues around having a no "lights-out" period (I'm far too old and rickety for any games after midnight lol), or availability on the three-day holiday weekends (I agree that splitting up the cons to three different locations is A Bad Idea). It feels like Strategicons are right up to the absolute edge of "small" venues, but as you mentioned making the jump to a "large" venue would no doubt drop attendance (though hopefully temporarily) and the con could end up getting screwed, possibly even fatally. In the absence of any "medium" options, it's really a Catch-22 I have no suggestions for. All I can do is wish you and the other staff members good luck!
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Post by Stu Venable on Sept 9, 2015 14:20:46 GMT -8
Thanks Stu. I agree that I need more room for the clipboards. I will be expanding the outside of the HQ to accommodate more tables for clipboards and binders. It will alleviate some cramped mess and make it easier to game in the boardroom. I can change the procedure to have GMs take the sign in sheets. The issue I have with that is that often a GM will not necessarily check the HQ before heading out to his table. How about I notify my staff to allow GMs to pick up their sheets if they want and have the delivery be a backup? -Jim That would be perfect. Thanks
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tomes
Supporter
Hello madness
Posts: 1,438
Currently Running: Dungeon World, hippie games, Fallout Shelter RPG hack
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Post by tomes on Sept 9, 2015 14:32:09 GMT -8
I can change the procedure to have GMs take the sign in sheets. The issue I have with that is that often a GM will not necessarily check the HQ before heading out to his table. How about I notify my staff to allow GMs to pick up their sheets if they want and have the delivery be a backup? -Jim The only problem I can see is if someone comes late to the signup sheets ( late meaning after the GM was there, they could still be 15 minutes early), and they didn't then know where to go. I don't think it's an issue the sheets going off as long as there is a way for folks to still figure out how to get to a specific game.
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Post by Stu Venable on Sept 9, 2015 14:37:17 GMT -8
Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh!
Apart from being where I live, there IS a convention center across from the big mall -- and several hotels within walking distance. Parking is cheaper too...
No idea if it's a 24 hour venue.
I take runs through that part of town at 4:30 in the morning, and I've yet to see a scary person on the streets (apart from me).
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tomes
Supporter
Hello madness
Posts: 1,438
Currently Running: Dungeon World, hippie games, Fallout Shelter RPG hack
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Post by tomes on Sept 9, 2015 14:44:02 GMT -8
Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! Pa-Suh-Dee-Nuh! +1 100% concur with that locale. Yes, it is closer to me, but also there is the gold line from downtown to Pasadena which means mass transportation isn't quite as non-existent as other parts of town (for those flying in); and of course Burbank airport with SouthWest and others isn't too far, so it gives you a non-LAX option. The Pasadena area is walkable, compared to many parts of L.A. (and LAX). But anyways, I know you have bigger fish to fry first. The only thing I'd say is that I feel more confident hearing all the issues, because it sounds like you guys are keeping all the correct issues in mind. Good luck, board!
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thegrimace
Initiate Douchebag
Posts: 45
Preferred Game Systems: Anything
Currently Playing: D&D 5.0, Pathfinder, L5R
Currently Running: L5R
Favorite Species of Monkey: Evil
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Post by thegrimace on Sept 9, 2015 15:07:44 GMT -8
Probably not the best place to post this, but in response to Bill Roper 's comment about food options: If (1) you have more than ~45 minutes and (2) have access to a car, there's a lot of good food options just down the street in El Segundo (speaking as someone who works there). That being said, I don't know how realistic either of those conditions are, as I still haven't been able to make it to one of the cons yet If anyone is interested in restaurant recommendations in the area I can certainly provide some.
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