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Origins 2010
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wedge_hammersteel
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:15 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Could you elaborate on "Discus is vastly more powerful in what it can do"? How so?
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Steve Cole
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 6:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's an old discussion around here or the other one somewhere.

There's a list of a dozen things it does more effectively. For ONE example, it's list of new messages includes the first few words of each message, making it possible for us to moderate the board without actually entering most topics. PHP doesn't do that. I spend more time every day moderating 10 new posts on PHP than I do moderating 100 new posts on Discus.

Discus can more easily search the database, and can more easily access recent as opposed to new posts. From my end, PHP would be impossible to use for something as big as the main board. I'd spend 10 hours a day moderating it and get nothing else done.
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wedge_hammersteel
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 8:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks
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David
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PostPosted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well I'm starting to get used to the other board. And everyone has been extremely helpful and friendly.
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MikeBurke
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 9:17 am    Post subject: Please tell more about Origins Reply with quote

Ok so 2010 has passed what about 2011 and where is it going to be held? What does it cost? I've known about it for years and that it is held but information for it has barely trickled out this way for a while. Please provide some information on it.
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Mike Burke
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Scoutdad
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 11:34 am    Post subject: Re: Please tell more about Origins Reply with quote

MikeBurke wrote:
Ok so 2010 has passed what about 2011 and where is it going to be held? What does it cost? I've known about it for years and that it is held but information for it has barely trickled out this way for a while. Please provide some information on it.


It's always held in Columbus OH on the last weekend of June.
The website: www.originsgamefair.com has not yet been updated with detailed info about 2011 yet, but...

For the last three or four years, registration was as follows:
Early Bird (before January 10th or so) - $50 for the full 5 days
Regular pre-registration: - $ 75 for the full 5 days
At the door: still $75, but you have to wait through the registration line.

The typical event (and there are usually 600 to 700 events) is then 2 to 4$ for a 3 or 4 hour block, although there are several one-price ribbons that let you plat as much of a certain genre / mfg / type game as you want; such as the SFU ribbon (~$20) which lets you play SFB or FC (or F&E) all week long.
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Steve Cole
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We will be doing some different things at Origins in 2011 than before. More of a "theme park" atmosphere than mega-events. We will, at some point, move Gold Hat entirely on line and have other events at Origins, but I'm not sure (yet) if that will happen in 2011 or 2012 or 2013.
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MikeBurke
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 3:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

So how does it work? I mean do you have to attend the whole week to participate in stuff? I might be able to drive to Columbus, been there once in a snowstorm. What should one expect when a person does go to Origins? I'm trying to pitch some valid questions here. Certainly other gamers are there, but is everything tournament or is there some "Free for All" type of game play that is standard rules non-tournament? If I'm to round some people up to go, I want to know what to expect and what to tell people who haven't gone there before. What about Restaurants/airport/ car rental/ and other outside incidentals?
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wedge_hammersteel
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 4:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are two hotels attached to the convention center (Hampton Inn + Suites and one other) if I recall correctly. Matt and I stayed at the Hampton. Nice room, I think $120 per night. We stayed 4 nights and split the bill. Walking to and from your hotel to the game room was a little bit of a walk but not bad.

The convention center has a food court area with a good variety. There are also good restaurants within walking distance.

A van ride to and from the airport was $25.00 each way which Matt and I split.

When we arrived at the convention, there was no line to sign up and get your registration stuff. We pre-registered. The line for event tickets was long but not so long to make you not want to sign up for other events.

Jean and SVC had our pre-ordered products waiting for us at the booth, ready for pick up.

You can buy a pass for the entire event or pay for individual days. The event pass was not expensive.

The sign up for the Fed Com tourney was low-key. We paid Mike for the entire tourney and he gave us a sticker for our badge. We would agree to play tourney games as opponents were available as long as we got the battles done by a certain time and each opponent was different.

There was plenty of time and space to play Fed Com or SFB with other attendees. We brought our own game stuff including Matt’s felt map. The tourney battles keep you busy. I played 4 times and each battle lasted around 4 hours.

I would like to see Fed Com and SFB set up on the main gaming floor instead of the separate room on the 2nd floor so more people could watch the game play. I think it would be a good idea for ADB to have a very large scheduled battle for Saturday with as many FC attendees as possible to put on a good show for the public.

There were a bunch of other table top mini games being played and the groups were always open to questions.

The sales floor was packed with vendors or all types. I liked the ADB set up as you had the racks and counter set up with products and Jean behind the counter selling stuff and answering questions, and drawing in the occasional passer-by with her interesting comments. There was a round table next to the counter where SVC sat when at the booth. He was always open to chit-chat and game question/answers. The “seconds” miniatures…..I mean “misfit miniatures….I mean “challenged” miniatures were splayed out on the table for purchase as well.

This was my first gaming convention. All in all, the convention organizers did a great job and so did ADB. I would definitely attend again though I might drive rather than fly as Matt and I had a major delay both coming and going.
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Scoutdad
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 10:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

MikeBurke wrote:
Asked a bunch of questions... now snipped and indicated below:

In order:
I mean do you have to attend the whole week to participate in stuff?
No. You can come for one-day, two days, or more. The tournamnets may require more than a one day commitment - but every one of hte games/events being played there have one-time, free-for-all games. If you take a look at the Origins site before the event, the entire event listing can be downloaded as an XLS file. This lists all the games, time slots and cost ofhte session (if any).
If your question is more focused on the SFU events, then the answer is still No, you don't have to be there the whole week. There are always a few one-time scenarios scheduled sand you can always find someone for a pick-up game of SFB/FC.


What should one expect when a person does go to Origins?
Lots and lots of gaming. Lots of stuff in the vendor room. Lots of stuff in the consignment store.
You can reasonably expect the opportunity to play more games in a single day than most people play in a month or two. I usually play F&E and it's a 5-day, non-stop Hydran bashing festival. This year, I'm goign to squeeze in an entry intothe FC tourney as well.


I'm trying to pitch some valid questions here.
Of course. No question is invalid or inane. Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind.

Certainly other gamers are there, but is everything tournament or is there some "Free for All" type of game play that is standard rules non-tournament?
No, not every game is tournament. As previously stated - most of the events are one-off, play-have fun-move on to the next game type deals.

If I'm to round some people up to go, I want to know what to expect and what to tell people who haven't gone there before.
Tell them, "It's a blast!" and "That everyone should go at least once in their lives!", or tell 'em it's a Bucket List item!

What about Restaurants/airport/ car rental/ and other outside incidentals?
This is the best way to go. Usually, 4 of us from BGM go up. We stay at a Holiday Inn Express about 6 or 7 minutes away. The room (2 king-sized beds) is $89 a night... times 5 nights... split 4 ways. Works out to less than $120 each for the whole week.
The parking garage across the street from the convention center is $8 a day - and we each pay for a day of parking then walk across the street.
Gas up and back is split 4 ways, again, about $25 each. That comes out to about $150 each for the whole 5-day shebang.
The hotel has a large, hot-breakfast and there are plenty of places to grab lunch/dinner. My son-in-law went two years ago and his total expendature including meals was just over $225.
I tend to spend a bit more (since I usually "save" a couple hundred starships and visit all my favorite dealer booths) and we drive up on Tuesday mornign and stay through Sunday; but that'll give you a rough idea.

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Steve Cole
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 5:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

We were down on the main floor for years, and trust me, EVERYBODY hated it. Noisy Noisy Noisy, and the condensation dripping from the roof wasn't anything anybody wanted. And the idea that non-SFU gamers are going to stop the watch the games (an idea everybody has) doesn't work. Nobody stops, nobody watches, nobody joins the universe because they saw SFB or FC being played. When we moved to the rooms upstairs, there was much rejoicing. We had quiet, we had some privacy, and we had rooms we could lock up over night and leave games out.
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Warhammer
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Joined: 04 Dec 2006
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 8:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

wedge_hammersteel wrote:
I would like to see Fed Com and SFB set up on the main gaming floor instead of the separate room on the 2nd floor so more people could watch the game play. I think it would be a good idea for ADB to have a very large scheduled battle for Saturday with as many FC attendees as possible to put on a good show for the public.

There were a bunch of other table top mini games being played and the groups were always open to questions.


As some one who is responsible for gaming at the local Game Cons in Memphis as well as running the local game group, smaller Cons are better for bringing people into a particular game. I'll use MidSouthCon in Memphis as an example, the Con is 50% gamers and 50% scifi/fantasy fans. However, most people that are at the Con are there for the events, the Warhammer tourney (no my nick is not related), the Settlers of Catan tourney, etc. Yes, you get more visibility, but you are not going to bring people into a game or hobby (at least it is very rare).

Compare that to ShadowCon or GameCon Memphis, these Cons are smaller and they are much more intimate than MidSouthCon. It is much easier to have someone come by and look at a game. With less going on (fewer events, etc.), you can ease someone into a game at these Cons. Having minis out will guarantee plenty, which is different from the big Cons where every mini game will have all their "chrome" out, at the smaller events only the diehards will.

Just my .02 from what I have seen locally.
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wedge_hammersteel
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PostPosted: Wed Sep 15, 2010 9:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can understand SVC's and Warhammer's explanations. Experience rules here. This was my first con.

There were open tables in the main hall so a group could set up a game there if they wanted.

Matt and I would have like to have taken our minis to the con with us but with air travel it wasnt worth it. On the way back home, we had to have out bags manually inspected because of the huge chunks of metal inside. We purchased a bunch of minis at the con.
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