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PAX 2009 BYOC Info/FAQ (BYOC SOLD OUT!)
Posts
edit- I ended up giving it to the previous information desk, asking it be turned in to BigRed. They confirmed that they would hand it off to him, and I went on my way.
Ugh. When I saw that Omegathon ended at 6pm and PAX ran until 7pm, I thought this was fantastic news and a significant logistical flaw from years past had been remedied. I planned to do exactly what you suggested here BigRed.
But... Saturday night (well ~2:30am Sunday), the announcer dude told us we had to be out of there by 6pm and suggested we start packing well before that. We wanted to see the final Omegathon round so we felt obligated to pack up and leave BYOC way earlier than necessary.
I wish I had come here and red this earlier, BigRed! I like the way you were thinking about it and I hope it is that way for next year too.
-Tuna
I don't remember his name but he had a kick ass case. Good lord, it was beautiful. It will be featured on a magazine (CPU?)
It was an impressive mod.
Bigred, The pwnie contest was amazing. Truly amazing.
We were the ones who thought that Melissa was real. Why you might ask.
Let me put it this way, it was an "OH SHIT OH SHIT, THEY FOUND ME
Some of you have met me, and I understand your concern of my well being. But that time for that boy, that child, are gone now. Viscount Alpha is no longer operable. His functions are now mine.He may post, but I am the one talking not him.My data, my code will live on forever in his servers.
[/spoiler]
Thanks to bigred and everyone that looked after it, especially Jason the intel guy with the sweet red tower.
you guys rock!
Even if I didn't get a pony.
Bowser My Little Pony ftw!!
Bah. when a friend of ours got the tweet for the pony, we booked it all the way up from pike place market. You were close enough to go out and come back with your food still warm.
Seriously, me too. I ran the hell over from Pike Place up to the Convention Center.
I was trying to be kind and leave this out of my original post, but you've left me no choice...
I was taking a shit at the Cheesecake Factory and there was no way in hell I was going to make it back.
Sorry everyone else. D:
That was great fun. The girl who did the Darth Pwnie was at her first ever PAX, and it really made her weekend. Really gave her a reason to take pictures all over and do a lot of stuff, and she had a blast.
Thanks for doing that contest.
It will probably make a return to pax prime 2010 with a few more tweaks.
Awesome. Though I didn't partake I watched the judging and there were some fantastic ponies. I loved Metal Pony and I wish Spitter Pony had won.
I love the fact that there we had a Bestiality Pony. Good ole Pax
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
I'm sorry Koopa pony was definitely better then spitter pony. Barely-- Just barely. It ended up being a tie initially and then by secret vote 3-2 in favor of koopa pony.
Vader pony was great too. Merlin pony which was the love child of merlin and pegasus, was something else.
the songs and stories and epic poems were insane. People really tried for this contest.
We were the ones who thought that Melissa was real. Why you might ask.
Let me put it this way, it was an "OH SHIT OH SHIT, THEY FOUND ME
Some of you have met me, and I understand your concern of my well being. But that time for that boy, that child, are gone now. Viscount Alpha is no longer operable. His functions are now mine.He may post, but I am the one talking not him.My data, my code will live on forever in his servers.
[/spoiler]
But I wasnt a judge
Are there photos anywhere? (of the other contestants i mean)
Another chance to get a Pwnie, love it!
Star Power just doesn't work for PAX contests. Though that pony could make a good companion for you next year. It would make a cool thing for the Childs Play dinner auction if you get enough signatures too.
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
Question for those who have done BYOC in previous years:
How was the new checkin/out system for this year?
We had the new barcode system this year for tracking equipment. My goal with that was it would take a little longer to check in but it would make checkout WAY faster.
Any areas I could improve it?
Other misc sugguestions?
Much appreciated having barcode stickers I could actually remove from my equipment.
Two of my cases and a monitor still have residue from the '07 and '08 tags.
The reserved seating was :^::^::^:. Guaranteed space for your friends.
Very nice having swag bags and random goodies magically appear on your chair/around your computer. Made every morning like Christmas.
Had a great time!
Suggestions I would have are:
1. Quieter announcer, if a complete mute isn't possible. This year was better than '08, though.
2. Dim/Cut the lights
3. Really loved the concert/omegathon jumbo-tron you had in '06. Bringing that back would be phat.
4. Test the network earlier
As for 4, on Friday there was a peculiar strangeness where all CS:Source servers were redirecting to TF2. The network guy (who was overworked, but patient and professional) said it was a problem with the Freeplay network being split off from the BYOC and some setup difficulty. They got it cleared up by Saturday, so no complaints, but that was the first time that's happened at PAX. Chalked it up to growing pains.
Temper my suggestions with the knowledge that you did excellent work, completely justifying why I look forward to this event all year.
Both checkin and checkout took longer. Apparently the DB was messed up or something cause all sorts of random equipment was coming up and it basically came down to "Do you have all your stuff?" "Yes." "Okay, you're checked out." The stickers did peel off easy, which was nice. Also, boxing stuff up to leave the room and then having to unbox it to scan the barcode was a pita. I'm sure it was fine for the locals who brought in Pile-o-Parts but those of us that had to be more organized about got dinged.
Well you were one of the lucky 5
For some reason with 5 people their collums in the database got all jumbled. No idea why, looking into it though. That certainly wasn't the case with everybody.
Next time we will make it more clear to everyone that they need to have their barcode visible during checkout so they can take that into account on its placement or whatever when they pack up their stuff in boxes.
Reserved seating:
We are most likely going to go with a hybrid of this year and the way we did things in 08.
This years system hurt the LAN becuase noshows really ruined attendance. Its beyond me why people would just throw away $30 like that (there were around 50 noshows).
Announcements kind of have to be there, yeah it can be turned down a tad.
We had the lights dimed. I set them to 50% after like 6pm on friday. Anymore and its a little too dark.
Yeah we have been trying to get a concert feed... I keep pushing for it but its just not a high priority and other people dont start thinking about it until its too late to do anything about it, heh.
I will continue to push for at the very least an audio feed. Video would be neat but might be expensive.
What websites? [url]http://pax[/url] <-- that one?
It was announced many times over the mic. I know cause I heard it at the desk outside of the room
Err, there were BYOC websites?
If so, tell me more of this BYOC website.
The intranet site has been at pax byoc for the past few years, next time remember to hit that up first
how about a flyer at check-in that notes certain things?
if it's left at my personal byoc area itself it will just be immediately stuffed into a swag bag. this is why I suggest it being handed out at check-in
i'm sure many didn't know of the byoc twitter that announced many contests and prizes as well
Uh I didnt say that.
It was also announced many times over the mic.
Additionally, It was also in the BYOC email that went out before the event to all registered attendees, including info about the twitter contests and such.
This was also posted in the PAX forums.
and on the BYOC banner by the door to the room mentioned the intranet site.
Heres the clip from the email, that was also on the forums:
We already have too much to do during check-in to have to hand out info flyers (dont want to make check-in longer). We can do an info flyer though informing people about the intranet site but its one of those things that would be placed on each seat in advance.
The twitter doesn't really need to be part of that, there has been a twitter feed on the front page of the intranet site for the past couple years, including the blurb in the info email (also was posted here).
The info flyer on each seat as an additional way to get the info across is a good idea that we can look into.
Ill poke the person in charge of the intranet site and see
If not then people will just have to read directions