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Post by Stu Venable on Feb 15, 2016 14:59:37 GMT -8
I wanted to put this here so you can see it, and perhaps someone has a better ideas too.
With regards to the sign-up sheets: have you considered rolling out the sign up sheets the day of the games? So only the Friday signup sheets would be available on Friday. Saturday's sheets come out at 8am (just throwing out a number).
Also, rather than give out numbers, allow those waiting to sign up access according to the last digit of their badge number. (Maybe on Fridays it's 0-2 first, 3-5 second, 6-9 third. Then a different order on Saturday and again on Sunday. Or something like that. Or maybe randomly drawn numbers.
This would give the person showing up at the con on Saturday just as much of a chance and the person who showed up on Friday and has been camping RPGHQ since 5am.
Just a thought.
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Post by fabulous on Feb 16, 2016 12:37:44 GMT -8
Here are my suggestions:
1. Something posted by the books explicitly asking folks if they are unable to make it to a game to come to the table and cross themselves out. I had 6 signups and 6-7 alternates for my Saturday 8pm game, and got 4 players 0 alternates show. I think most of the later alternates saw no point in coming because they thought there was no chance they would get a seat, when if probably even half of those people took the 2 minute courtesy to come to the table and cross themselves off they might have. What I would do personally though I'm a big computer nerd is... I'd setup a res_calendar with each signup and on the signup sheets require badge #. There could be a book for the RPG volunteers to cross reference the badge #'s to an email address and then set them up in the calendar with meeting reminder 1 hour before game start reminding folks that 1) You have a game at such and such time, 2) it's in such and such room, and 3) if you will not be able to attend please respond to this email letting us know -or- come to the signup table to cross your name off. If they opt to email the table folks get the email in the mailbox for the calendars and they go ahead and scratch them off themselves.
I know this sounds really convoluted but it's honestly not. I've done it for events at my job several times and it's very streamlined for our boardrooms during events etc. All you really need is a laptop, internet connection, and an exchange service with an email address, with a book to xref the badge #'s to email addresses to add folks.
2. If a game is scheduled at 9am, 2pm, 8pm, I'd like to see the requirement to be at the table be 15 minutes before. Before you scoff, hear me out. What if we had a twitter account for "global alternates". You sign up to the twitter "follow it" and if a table isn't full and has seats available they can send out a twitter to that account letting folks know. "I've got 2 seats available in SanC Table 2 for Pathfinders starting in 10 minutes" There may be a better technical solution, but the thought process is, if you start at 2, and you don't get a full table you're fucked. You just have to run with what you have.
@ Strategicon I never had this happen, but 4 of my games this weekend had this issue. Saturday I got 4 players of a 6 spot table and something like 6-7 alternates, Sun I got 5-6 w/ alternates, and 2 of my played games Witchcraft Fairhope, and another half the table just didn't show up. It made it a tremendous challenge on the GM because he had NPC's that were instrumental to the story and just had to make it work (which he did very well, and we had a great time), but was really a shame we didn't get the experience he worked for.
With all this said the Convention was a blast as always, It was my first year running and though it was super stressful (mostly self inflicted) it was a great time. I'm already planning my next game.
On a side note, Thank you so much for the private rooms for my 8pm's my dread game would have been simply impossible to run in a full room on those tables the way I did it (everyone having their own jenga tower) so I really really appreciate you hooking me up. You rock!
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Post by weaselcreature on Feb 16, 2016 13:31:02 GMT -8
I sent an email to him which is pretty much exactly what Stu Venable said. Wife and I got lucky in that we were only able to go Saturday but still got into a couple HJ games (we were alternates, so YAY for no-shows and generous GMs!). I'll also reiterate what I sent in my email: let the volunteers know where to send people requesting sign-ups and/or what questions to ask. There were 3 sign-up locations, and we got sent to the 1st two before finding the one we needed.
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Post by Bill Roper on Feb 16, 2016 13:55:00 GMT -8
This is what comes to mind for me. Only the nerdiest survive.
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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 Feb 17, 2016 14:49:06 GMT -8
I have been guilty of committing a crime. I have been signed up as a player for a "second-choice" game, and then, wanting to get into something I really wanted to be in more, I've also signed up as an alt there.
I end up going to the first-choice / alt game, and praying, and if I get in, great. If not, I go back to my second-choice game that I'm already signed up for. Do I remember to cross my name off of the second-choice game if I got in as an alt? YES, I have, in the past, from memory.
I bring this up not because I did it this particular con; I didn't. I've since moved on from this behavior because I have brought enough backup hippie games where I'm hoping to find people to play with and things to do if I don't get into a game.
However I've definitely done it in the past, as the first few years, I didn't have such a backup plan. And I'm sure I'm not the only one. There is certainly the situation where people have signed up multiple times, which I think exacerbates this problem.
Is it OK that people have signed up for one game as a player, and then one as an alt? I certainly don't see this as "evil", as they're just trying to ensure that they get into something they want after paying their hard earned Con cash. But then also what happens when people abuse this and sign up for even more games than that?
I can't see how you can solve this particular problem (if indeed it is a regular issue) without having a computer there for signups, as the paper and pen method won't catch this, I suspect.
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I will throw this out there, from Big Bad Con last year:
They had pre-registration sign ups on a given day. Let's pretend it's Saturday at noon, January 23. During this FIRST sign up time, you can only sign up for TWO games, in ANY time slot. This means you have to choose your favorites, and also means that everyone else has that much more of a chance to get into various games.
A week later, say January 30 at noon, you open it up so that everyone can sign up for further games. Could be you let everyone sign up for whatever else they want (free for all). Or you could have it in stages (2 more today, 2 more in a week). Or you could let everyone else sign up for 2 more games, and then that's it. Everything else is signed up at the con.
To me, that'd ensure that more folks can get into things. I'm also OK with signups at the con be by the day, as that'd let day-only players get into more stuffs.
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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 Feb 17, 2016 14:55:10 GMT -8
Thanks for all the awesome feedback guys. With your help we will make incremental improvements to this department and make a better experience for everyone.
Issue 1: Day pass access and Pre-Reg access.
The feedback I have gotten points to some improvements that need to be made to make more games accessible to more people regardless of the time they wish to commit. People with Saturday or Sunday passes have a far more limited set of options as those who get a full con pass. It has been suggested that I stagger the release of the binders to allow for people to sign up for games closer to their start time. Here is the plan I have in mind for that. I am going to put out binders for the next three time slots at a time. The binders will be coming out in the buffer times between events so people who are currently in events do not get a lapse in access. These times will be 8 am, 1 pm and 6 pm. Schedule is as follows. NOTE: since Monday is usually very lite and to encourage more participation that day, I will be leaving the Monday sign ins out all convention long.
Binders Come out on For Game Slots Friday 12:00 PM Friday 2 pm - 6 pm Friday 8 pm - 12 am Saturday 9 am - 1 pm Friday 6:00 PM Friday 8 pm - 12 am Saturday 9 am - 1pm Saturday 2 pm - 6 pm Saturday 8:00 AM Saturday 9 am - 1 pm Saturday 2 pm - 6 pm Saturday 8 pm - 12 am Saturday 1:00 PM Saturday 2 pm - 6 pm Saturday 8 pm - 12 am Sunday 9 am - 1 pm Saturday 6:00 PM Saturday 8 pm - 12 am Sunday 9 am - 1 pm Sunday 2 pm - 6 pm Sunday 8:00 AM Sunday 9 am - 1 pm Sunday 2 pm - 6 pm Sunday 8 pm - 12 am
This should mitigate access and since I will only have three binders at a time, I will simply be laying them out on a first come first serve basis. If a mob does form, expect us to create a queue to facilitate access. Please do not ask me for early access, you will be denied. The whole point of this is to be as fair as possible to every attendee. I am hoping this will make for a more relaxed flow and less time hovering over the binders since you can only plan three slots ahead. Games that do not fit directly into my time slots will be added to the time slot immediately after its designated time. So if a game is at 12 pm then it will be placed with the 2 pm sheets.
Issue 2: Alternates and no shows.
This is a tough one. No matter what I add to the HQ and what steps I take to ensure communication or promote accountability, it happens more than I would like. The problem with tracking people via badge number is that I do not have access to any reference between their personal info and their badge number. This is done for security reasons and to ensure that our attendee’s privacy is secure. The only information I can access is for my volunteers and GMs. Besides, I have found that accountability isn’t really the issue. If they don’t care enough to come up and cross their names off a list they aren’t likely to care about being called on it unless there is some sort of consequence which I am disinclined to enforce. It’s not a badge pulling offense and there is little else I can do to censure them.
That being said, creating a method where people can drop an @stratconrpgalts on Twitter where people can check on games that need Alts. This way, if you have a bunch of people not show you can list your available seats to that and let people know to come by. I will create the Twitter account and post it here once I do. It also puts the onus on the GM to put that out there. I will also put a disclaimer and the Twitter handle on the bottom of every sign in sheet instructing people to follow and connect for updates.
Let me know what you think guys and thanks so much to this community for making us break 2100 at Orccon this year even with Valentines Day and a crazy hotel situation.
Regards, Jim Sandoval RPG Supervisor Strategicon
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Post by Monkeyfun Dave on Feb 17, 2016 16:01:46 GMT -8
Regards, Jim Sandoval RPG Supervisor Strategicon As God as my witness, I thought Jim had originally written " RPG Survivor"... And that might be more apt. I find it always sign-up to be a weird experience - I usually get a full sheet of sign-ups for the games I run... only to have people drop out at the last minute. My Sunday game was scheduled for a full table and three alternates, only to have only three of the original sign-ups show up. (Of course, they brought their friends which made it easy enough to fill in, but it's very odd.) I've been told that people often sign up as Alternatives but figure they have no chance in getting into the game... so they don't show up, either. So if one or two people don't arrive, those spots just stay open.
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Post by fabulous on Feb 18, 2016 0:18:26 GMT -8
Thanks Jim! The privacy concerns make 1000% sense. I didn't even consider that. These are nuanced little things really, in the large scope of things the con was incredible, and the volunteers were very kind and helpful when I had questions. Appreciate all of the hard work you and your staff put into this for us. I know making something of this scale run even moderately smoothly takes a tremendous effort. Thank You!
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Post by Stu Venable on Feb 24, 2016 13:56:14 GMT -8
The looking-for-players Twitter account is a fantastic idea. If we can make people aware of it and encourage them to check it once games start, it would make the no-show problem largely irrelevant.
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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 May 25, 2016 15:52:52 GMT -8
Just wanted to bump this because it has some important info. Follow @strategiconrpg for game updates.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using proboards
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