ColdbrewDown in Front ProductionsLake Stevens, WARegistered Userregular
edited June 2009
As for waiting to pay, that's on my end because of me being broke, so don't worry about it.
And I will volunteer bringing a Wii, but we will need others to bring extra wii-motes, nunchucks, and GC controllers. I wouldn't mind getting some Brawl going on, but I can actually pretty much get whatever game we want, just let me know ahead of time.
Hopefully I won't have to wait too long until I can pay up, but I am all in on this. Oh, I'll also be getting this on the Community DVD.
Now Raiden333 mentioned bringing some X360's, did they confirm that we can do this? I'm down for Castle Crashers (finally got my 360 working a couple weeks ago, got the game, then the console took a shit on me before I was able to finish it) or some Rock Band / Guitar Hero.
One more question, sorry if it's a dumb one or if it's been answered. Will this be 21+?
Lindsay suggested we bring consoles. It's confirmed. 2 120" projection screens that we can hook things up to. So I'm kind of thinking a Wii and a 360, but that's a detail for later.
I actually haven't checked if it's 21+. I will do that now.
You shouldn't have to wait very long to pay. Really, I'm just trying to figure out an option that's user friendly for you guys. I could have you PayPal money to me directly right now, but it's not very user friendly, no e-mail receipt, etc.
On your next email, can you ask what kind of ports we're looking at for the projectors/TVs? I have HDMI, Composite, and Component for my 360, so it shouldn't be a problem, but I'd like to be clear.
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ColdbrewDown in Front ProductionsLake Stevens, WARegistered Userregular
edited June 2009
Yeah, I was wondering about this as well. If we use a Wii, I would like to use component.
Oh, and worth noting: I have Rock Band 2 (and all the imported songs from 1) with a fair amount of DLC, but I will not be bringing any instruments beyond perhaps a microphone. If someone else is bringing instruments to PAX and is willing to loan them for the event, I'm more than willing to let my 360 be the Rock Band host for the evening.
My offer to get DLC I don't have before the event if you pay for one of my drinks at the event stands for packs of rock band songs, as well.
Hm... Idea... Find a Harmonix employee and invite them on the condition that they smuggle in Rock Band Beatles.
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ColdbrewDown in Front ProductionsLake Stevens, WARegistered Userregular
Yeah, the actual specifics of the A/V controls will have to come into play at some point. Hopefully it's more advanced than composite, but who knows. I don't imagine fidelity or resolution are chief among their concerns, but I've been wrong before.
I had actually briefly considered the idea of getting sponsors for the event. I don't really know how that works, but LAN parties get free BAWLS and crap like that all the time, right?
Anybody have any experience with that kind of thing?
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This was mentioned for something last year, and Khoo asked the organizers of whatever event it was to not do it. Basically PAX itself needs all the sponsorship it can get and community events would bleed from the pool.
Anyway, this is sounding pretty great Arco. Thanks for all the work you've done so far in organizing this thing. I can only imagine how long it takes to get all this banged out.
This was mentioned for something last year, and Khoo asked the organizers of whatever event it was to not do it. Basically PAX itself needs all the sponsorship it can get and community events would bleed from the pool.
Fair enough.
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This was mentioned for something last year, and Khoo asked the organizers of whatever event it was to not do it. Basically PAX itself needs all the sponsorship it can get and community events would bleed from the pool.
Fair enough.
That seems a little self-defeating, but if that's how Khoo wants to play it. It sounds like you've got things set pretty well Arco. What are you thinking for the food options? Also you should probably get the money sorted out as soon as possible to give people the most time to give you money. This also gives you more time to roll around in 3500 $1 bills before PAX.
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I.. forgot about the Twitter Shitters meet-up. :S I may bow out of this, to go do that? I'm still not sure yet, though
No worries, dude. If you haven't paid yet, you aren't on the hook for anything. And you can't pay yet, because I haven't set that up yet.
As far as taking the money goes: I'm really at kind of a loss. I suppose I could have you guys just put money into my PayPal account. That seems a little low-tech, but you'll have records of it on your paypal and credit card/bank account statements, and I'll have record of all the income. Would anyone have a problem with that? Does anyone have a better idea?
PayPal is the only option I've found that's free, and that's a big deal. I was going to actually use some kind of ticketing service, ala www.brownpapertickets.com, but they have a service charge that I don't want to deal with.
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As far as the food options go - I think that's going to be the next big thing to figure out, and maybe the next poll on the thread.
The Taphouse has an interesting option called an appetizer buffet, which consists of three platters (fresh fruit, hummus and things to dip in it, or assorted sushi) and three appetizers (things like coconut shrimp, sausage and cheese stuffed mushrooms, spinach & artichoke dip, etc). That's $25 per person according to their .pdf. We could add two more appetizers to that, two drink tickets, or one of each to bring it up to our per diem of $35.
So strictly as a hypothetical example, our menu might look something like this if we go that route:
Fresh fruit platter
Hummus with pita bread and vegetables platter
Assorted sushi & nigri platter
Coconut shrimp
Sausage and cheese stuffed mushrooms
Spinach & artichoke dip
Assorted cookies and dessert bar
One drink ticket, redeemable at the bar
All told they have about 30 choices for this, plus I'm sure we could ask for something special if we really wanted it.
And really, I think that's the way this thing is evolving. It started out as a "dinner" with entrees and salads and things like that, but it's quickly progressing into a party. There definitely has to be lots and lots of food, but appetizers and finger foods are definitely more party friendly than an entree which requires a fork and knife. So I think having a giant table with tons of food that's easy to grab and quick to eat might be the way to go.
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Hm... Idea... Find a Harmonix employee and invite them on the condition that they smuggle in Rock Band Beatles.
That's is an awesome idea. Maybe even get Khoo to help us. He's always down for helping us out.
My only real big problems with that is....
1. Would there be room for 100 people, plus a whole Rock Band set up?
(Like will it be in the way of people trying to move around and/or play pool.)
2. How long would people be down for playing it?
(Some people just don't like Rock Band and/or The Beatles. And other games may be asked to be set up.)
[Will other 360s be brought to The Taphouse, to fix this problem?]
Hm... Idea... Find a Harmonix employee and invite them on the condition that they smuggle in Rock Band Beatles.
That's is an awesome idea. Maybe even get Khoo to help us. He's always down for helping us out.
My only real big problems with that is....
1. Would there be room for 100 people, plus a whole Rock Band set up?
(Like will it be in the way of people trying to move around and/or play pool.)
2. How long would people be down for playing it?
(Some people just don't like Rock Band and/or The Beatles. And other games may be asked to be set up.)
[Will other 360s be brought to The Taphouse, to fix this problem?]
My general assumption is that any room that can accommodate 100 people can do so comfortably, with lots of room to move around. Fire codes and what-not don't really allow you to cram 100 people together with no elbow room, and then proclaim that the room holds 100 people. This should be especially true if they've got pool tables. Pool tables that are put too close together fucking sucks. I play a decent amount of pool. Pool halls that don't have adequate spacing don't attract a lot of customers. So hopefully they picked up on that.
Also, the way they bill the Billiards Lounge is "ideal for personal or corporate functions where fun is the goal. Guests can dine, drink, and play in complete privacy." So I think they know that people are going to be up and about.
Plus, a Rock Band setup isn't all that big. You were on the train last year, we got a whole Rock Band setup in that arcade car.
BUT, these are valid questions, and my assumption does not equal a definite answer by any means. Despite my confidence that it won't be a problem, these go on my list of things to double-check with Lindsay to ensure a crisis-free evening of debauchery. Thank you for asking.
As far as consoles go, we've got two screens, 120" each. I'm thinking a Wii and a 360 might be the way to go. We can do Wii Sports/Brawl/Rabbids or something on the Wii, and Rock Band/Halo/Castle Crashers/L4D on the 360. We can always take a vote on the games and switch them out throughout the night, so almost everyone gets something they want. No idea if they can give our consoles Internet or not. That's something I have to figure out down the line.
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I.. forgot about the Twitter Shitters meet-up. :S I may bow out of this, to go do that? I'm still not sure yet, though
No worries, dude. If you haven't paid yet, you aren't on the hook for anything. And you can't pay yet, because I haven't set that up yet.
As far as taking the money goes: I'm really at kind of a loss. I suppose I could have you guys just put money into my PayPal account. That seems a little low-tech, but you'll have records of it on your paypal and credit card/bank account statements, and I'll have record of all the income. Would anyone have a problem with that? Does anyone have a better idea?
PayPal is the only option I've found that's free, and that's a big deal. I was going to actually use some kind of ticketing service, ala www.brownpapertickets.com, but they have a service charge that I don't want to deal with.
People will have to add like a 2% service fee for PayPal if you are in the states and I think its a bit more if you are Canadian.
Personally I think Taphouse is ripping you off. I stayed quiet about this until I read the last thing you received from L. With the amount of people that could be coming, she should charge a flat rate for the whole evening which would include all you can eat buffet. Personally, I find the price high. If this were being done locally, they would give you the room, equipment and food at a flat rate and not charge per person. They are making a killer of profit on this even if they charge a flat rate. It is not like they are going to get an extra 100 or so costumers on that day without us.
I.. forgot about the Twitter Shitters meet-up. :S I may bow out of this, to go do that? I'm still not sure yet, though
No worries, dude. If you haven't paid yet, you aren't on the hook for anything. And you can't pay yet, because I haven't set that up yet.
As far as taking the money goes: I'm really at kind of a loss. I suppose I could have you guys just put money into my PayPal account. That seems a little low-tech, but you'll have records of it on your paypal and credit card/bank account statements, and I'll have record of all the income. Would anyone have a problem with that? Does anyone have a better idea?
PayPal is the only option I've found that's free, and that's a big deal. I was going to actually use some kind of ticketing service, ala www.brownpapertickets.com, but they have a service charge that I don't want to deal with.
People will have to add like a 2% service fee for PayPal if you are in the states and I think its a bit more if you are Canadian.
Personally I think Taphouse is ripping you off. I stayed quiet about this until I read the last thing you received from L. With the amount of people that could be coming, she should charge a flat rate for the whole evening which would include all you can eat buffet. Personally, I find the price high. If this were being done locally, they would give you the room, equipment and food at a flat rate and not charge per person. They are making a killer of profit on this even if they charge a flat rate. It is not like they are going to get an extra 100 or so costumers on that day without us.
Well, if you think about it, it is a flat rate. The rate is $3250. You want the room, you pay $3250. I'm just breaking it down per person because it is per person - there's nobody covering this, we're all contributing.
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Well, if you think about it, it is a flat rate. The rate is $3250. You want the room, you pay $3250. I'm just breaking it down per person because it is per person - there's nobody covering this, we're all contributing.
So let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You pay 3250 and it doesn't matter how many people show up, everything (minus drinks) is covered, including unlimited food.
Well, if you think about it, it is a flat rate. The rate is $3250. You want the room, you pay $3250. I'm just breaking it down per person because it is per person - there's nobody covering this, we're all contributing.
So let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You pay 3250 and it doesn't matter how many people show up, everything (minus drinks) is covered, including unlimited food.
I don't know about unlimited. It's a buffet, not an all you can eat buffet. At least that's what I think. I can double-check with Lindsay.
But, yes. They don't charge any kind of fee or deposit for the room. All they care about is the spending minimum. That's why we have to come up with $3250. We have to spend $3250 on food/drinks to get the room. That's the deal.
And to be honest, I don't think they really care whether we come or not. It's a restaurant like two blocks from PAX. They will most certainly fill up that weekend, all weekend.
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Well, if you think about it, it is a flat rate. The rate is $3250. You want the room, you pay $3250. I'm just breaking it down per person because it is per person - there's nobody covering this, we're all contributing.
So let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You pay 3250 and it doesn't matter how many people show up, everything (minus drinks) is covered, including unlimited food.
I don't know about unlimited. It's a buffet, not an all you can eat buffet. At least that's what I think. I can double-check with Lindsay.
But, yes. They don't charge any kind of fee or deposit for the room. All they care about is the spending minimum. That's why we have to come up with $3250. We have to spend $3250 on food/drinks to get the room. That's the deal.
And to be honest, I don't think they really care whether we come or not. It's a restaurant like two blocks from PAX. They will most certainly fill up that weekend, all weekend.
Hmmm. I am still not sure about this for some odd reason. Something isn't adding up right in my head about what Lindsay is offering, especially for that price for a buffet. Because it sounds like if more people come once the minimum spending is achieved either through food and drink, the will increase the bill at the end of the night.
If that price is both for food and drink, I am betting it will be a lot more once the end of the night roles around because of the drink part. Say only 50 people show up at 38 bux a plate. That is 1900 dollars. But they each spend on average 25 bux for drinks on top of it (factoring in non-drinkers), that is 1250 there for drinks. So the bill (before tip and tax) is already at 3150. By the time the end of the night rolls around, the bill is going to be much higher unless a deal is arranged that we pay this much for food and non-alcoholic drinks regardless of how many people show up, all you can eat, equipment is including and then pay for drinks on top of it.
Well, if you think about it, it is a flat rate. The rate is $3250. You want the room, you pay $3250. I'm just breaking it down per person because it is per person - there's nobody covering this, we're all contributing.
So let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You pay 3250 and it doesn't matter how many people show up, everything (minus drinks) is covered, including unlimited food.
I don't know about unlimited. It's a buffet, not an all you can eat buffet. At least that's what I think. I can double-check with Lindsay.
But, yes. They don't charge any kind of fee or deposit for the room. All they care about is the spending minimum. That's why we have to come up with $3250. We have to spend $3250 on food/drinks to get the room. That's the deal.
And to be honest, I don't think they really care whether we come or not. It's a restaurant like two blocks from PAX. They will most certainly fill up that weekend, all weekend.
Hmmm. I am still not sure about this for some odd reason. Something isn't adding up right in my head about what Lindsay is offering, especially for that price for a buffet. Because it sounds like if more people come once the minimum spending is achieved either through food and drink, the will increase the bill at the end of the night.
If that price is both for food and drink, I am betting it will be a lot more once the end of the night roles around because of the drink part. Say only 50 people show up at 38 bux a plate. That is 1900 dollars. But they each spend on average 25 bux for drinks on top of it (factoring in non-drinkers), that is 1250 there for drinks. So the bill (before tip and tax) is already at 3150. By the time the end of the night rolls around, the bill is going to be much higher unless a deal is arranged that we pay this much for food and non-alcoholic drinks regardless of how many people show up, all you can eat, equipment is including and then pay for drinks on top of it.
1) The buffet is pricy because it's the only way they can logistically feed 100+ people at the same time. If you were a regular customer on a regular night, you could get a good meal at the Taphouse for $20. But because they have to serve this many people, they have to serve us a buffet. Having us all order individually off the menu is both risky, in terms of meeting the spending minimum, and complete and utter chaos, in terms of their staff. Factored into the price for the buffet is not only the food - it's the massive effort required by the kitchen to generate that much food all at once, the setup, tear down, constant attention, etc. that's required for the buffet, PLUS everything else regarding the room. We aren't paying a deposit or a room rental fee, an audio video fee, or even a bartender fee. We get all of that, our own private bar, the pool tables, the projectors, the space, and the food, for $3250. Again, I'm banking on 100 guests and charging $35 a piece to give us a little bit of a buffer ($250). If we don't end up needing that buffer we can do a raffle or something. That's a minor detail for later. Basically the spending minimum is $3500.
2) There is no "bill" at the end of the night. If you're coming to the party, you're giving me $35 and I'm putting that into the pot for the food/drink spending minimum, with the idea being that we need 100 people at that price to reach that minimum. I could've set the goal at 90 people and $39 a piece. It doesn't really matter. The point is, the more people come, the easier and cheaper it is for each individual guest to contribute to the spending minimum, and thus, the party is more affordable and accessible for all. This is why I've stressed so heavily on the front page that we must have 100 people pre-register with me. We have to spend that much money, and I want each contribution to be as small as possible.
3) If I hand Taphouse a check for $3500 at the beginning of the night, we don't owe them anything after that. We're done. They're happy. Everything is square. If more money is spent after the spending minimum is reached, that's just good for the Taphouse. My expectation is that we will spend significantly more than $35. If we get 100 people and each one of them orders a single drink beyond what's included in the $35, that's another $500 or whatever. That's one drink per person. I imagine it will be significantly more than that. But none of that matters to us, or to me. All that's important is that we give them $3500.
4) If anybody wants anything that isn't part of that $35, like more food, drinks, etc. it's on them. There's no "group tab." They're paying cash. The only thing that I'm responsible for as the person in charge and the person who signed the contract is meeting the $3500 spending minimum, and because I'm going to be handing them a check for that spending minimum before the party even starts, I'm not responsible for anything more or less than anyone else. There will be no discussion of the bill at the end of the night. There will be no bill. At the beginning of the party we could all drop dead, and they wouldn't care. Their minimum is met, their conditions are satisfied.
5) As far as more people showing up... basically we need either 50 people (for the Club Room), 100 people (for the Billiards Lounge), or 150 people (for both). The per-person is exactly the same in all those situations. We start to get into trouble at, say, 75 or 125 people, because then we're overflowing into another space but not FILLING that space. That causes the per-person price to go up.
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From: Lindsay
Subject: RE: Seattle Private Dining Request
Date: June 18, 2009 1:16:19 PM PDT
To: Arco
All private events are all ages. The 21+ will be carded at the bar in the room.
I would be happy to construct a dinner buffet menu that would meet your $35 per person request. The more I think about it the more I agree with this idea where they pre-pay for their food and then they can spend whatever they like at the bar. That's honestly your best solution in this situation.
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Okay. Still have to think on this one. There are a couple things that are not sitting right with me as a consumer that have nothing to do with you or PAX or anybody going. It will be a lot of fun, but (and this may seem like a small point but for me its a big one) if we are going to be going as a group, then we should be getting a discounted group rate. They should be happy to have our business and not treat like oh well if they take it then good, if not, its PAX weekend, we will find others. Maybe it has to do with where I live, but their attitude is poor customer service IMHO and I do not want to fork out close to over 40 Canadian on a buffet.
Okay. Still have to think on this one. There are a couple things that are not sitting right with me as a consumer that have nothing to do with you or PAX or anybody going. It will be a lot of fun, but (and this may seem like a small point but for me its a big one) if we are going to be going as a group, then we should be getting a discounted group rate. They should be happy to have our business and not treat like oh well if they take it then good, if not, its PAX weekend, we will find others. Maybe it has to do with where I live, but their attitude is poor customer service IMHO and I do not want to fork out close to over 40 Canadian on a buffet.
That's your prerogative. Also keep in mind that this isn't just a buffet. It's a buffet with very good food, two 120" projectors with consoles attached, four pool tables, a huge venue, and lots of fun. Also keep in mind that a nice buffet at, say, a casino in Las Vegas on a weekend is probably around the same price.
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Okay. Still have to think on this one. There are a couple things that are not sitting right with me as a consumer that have nothing to do with you or PAX or anybody going. It will be a lot of fun, but (and this may seem like a small point but for me its a big one) if we are going to be going as a group, then we should be getting a discounted group rate. They should be happy to have our business and not treat like oh well if they take it then good, if not, its PAX weekend, we will find others. Maybe it has to do with where I live, but their attitude is poor customer service IMHO and I do not want to fork out close to over 40 Canadian on a buffet.
That's your prerogative. Also keep in mind that this isn't just a buffet. It's a buffet with very good food, two 120" projectors with consoles attached, four pool tables, a huge venue, and lots of fun. Also keep in mind that a nice buffet at, say, a casino in Las Vegas on a weekend is like $40.
I still think it's a lot of money to spend to basically hang out with people and have a good time. The projectors and pool tables etc do not interest me. I wouldn't even be using them. I won't be drinking. So considering what use I would get from it, I think I am going to have to say no to this and do the twitter shitter's thing instead. That event I would be able to participate more in than just eating and talking.
The Taphouse has an interesting option called an appetizer buffet, which consists of three platters (fresh fruit, hummus and things to dip in it, or assorted sushi) and three appetizers (things like coconut shrimp, sausage and cheese stuffed mushrooms, spinach & artichoke dip, etc). That's $25 per person according to their .pdf. We could add two more appetizers to that, two drink tickets, or one of each to bring it up to our per diem of $35.
This is what I was talking about last night. Remember though that Tax/tip are not included, so if we want bill/tax/tip to equal 35, our spending limit on food is 27 (almost exactly).
The Taphouse has an interesting option called an appetizer buffet, which consists of three platters (fresh fruit, hummus and things to dip in it, or assorted sushi) and three appetizers (things like coconut shrimp, sausage and cheese stuffed mushrooms, spinach & artichoke dip, etc). That's $25 per person according to their .pdf. We could add two more appetizers to that, two drink tickets, or one of each to bring it up to our per diem of $35.
This is what I was talking about last night. Remember though that Tax/tip are not included, so if we want bill/tax/tip to equal 35, our spending limit on food is 27 (almost exactly).
Oh right! Right. Good point.
I e-mailed Lindsay and ran that exact scenario by her. Let's see if she's as sharp as you are.
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Arco, you're a saint for undertaking this. I sure as hell will be attending, this is the coolest way to end a convention I've ever heard of. Between the CCST, the pre-pax dinner and this, I think that's enough community soak for me hehe.
I still think it's a lot of money to spend to basically hang out with people and have a good time. The projectors and pool tables etc do not interest me. I wouldn't even be using them. I won't be drinking. So considering what use I would get from it, I think I am going to have to say no to this and do the twitter shitter's thing instead. That event I would be able to participate more in than just eating and talking.
Yeah, there's twitting and shitting to be done as well! :P
Every time I visit this thread I imagine you looking like Stan in your avatar dealing with all this stuff. I'm sure it will all be worth it though when good times and good booze are had by all.
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I want to have the model for the pre-registrations finalized by the end of the weekend. Does anybody know of a good way to do this? Thus far, the only way I can see to do it is to have you guys just send me $35 via PayPal. That seems a little low-tech.
Any suggestions? I'm clueless. This is something I've never asked the Internet to do for me.
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I want to have the model for the pre-registrations finalized by the end of the weekend. Does anybody know of a good way to do this? Thus far, the only way I can see to do it is to have you guys just send me $35 via PayPal. That seems a little low-tech.
Any suggestions? I'm clueless. This is something I've never asked the Internet to do for me.
You could ask in the Help/Advice forum, they always give good info.
Beh. Well, the help/advice forum wasn't any help, but I think I've found something that will work anyway.
It's not free, but it's almost free. Between the PayPal credit card fees and the ticketing/event website fees, we're paying $2.50 per person. I think we can all live with that. That bumps the pre-registration cost to $37.50. Again, I think we can all live with that. I've spent lots of time over the past week or so investigating the online ticketing world, and nobody does it for free. Either you pay for the event organizing/ticketing website, or you pay for the credit card services, or you pay for both. $2.50 is reasonable enough I guess, I'm just going to swallow my stupid "I should be able to do this for free" instinct and shut up.
SO. In a few minutes you will find a button on the front page that will allow you to finally give me money. You should all do that.
EDIT: PRE-REGISTRATION IS NOW LIVE!
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And I will volunteer bringing a Wii, but we will need others to bring extra wii-motes, nunchucks, and GC controllers. I wouldn't mind getting some Brawl going on, but I can actually pretty much get whatever game we want, just let me know ahead of time.
On your next email, can you ask what kind of ports we're looking at for the projectors/TVs? I have HDMI, Composite, and Component for my 360, so it shouldn't be a problem, but I'd like to be clear.
My offer to get DLC I don't have before the event if you pay for one of my drinks at the event stands for packs of rock band songs, as well.
Hm... Idea... Find a Harmonix employee and invite them on the condition that they smuggle in Rock Band Beatles.
Try to contact The Duke of Freezepop, he's working for Harmonix. Then that would be twice as epic.
I had actually briefly considered the idea of getting sponsors for the event. I don't really know how that works, but LAN parties get free BAWLS and crap like that all the time, right?
Anybody have any experience with that kind of thing?
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
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Anyway, this is sounding pretty great Arco. Thanks for all the work you've done so far in organizing this thing. I can only imagine how long it takes to get all this banged out.
Fair enough.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
That seems a little self-defeating, but if that's how Khoo wants to play it. It sounds like you've got things set pretty well Arco. What are you thinking for the food options? Also you should probably get the money sorted out as soon as possible to give people the most time to give you money. This also gives you more time to roll around in 3500 $1 bills before PAX.
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
As far as taking the money goes: I'm really at kind of a loss. I suppose I could have you guys just put money into my PayPal account. That seems a little low-tech, but you'll have records of it on your paypal and credit card/bank account statements, and I'll have record of all the income. Would anyone have a problem with that? Does anyone have a better idea?
PayPal is the only option I've found that's free, and that's a big deal. I was going to actually use some kind of ticketing service, ala www.brownpapertickets.com, but they have a service charge that I don't want to deal with.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
The Taphouse has an interesting option called an appetizer buffet, which consists of three platters (fresh fruit, hummus and things to dip in it, or assorted sushi) and three appetizers (things like coconut shrimp, sausage and cheese stuffed mushrooms, spinach & artichoke dip, etc). That's $25 per person according to their .pdf. We could add two more appetizers to that, two drink tickets, or one of each to bring it up to our per diem of $35.
So strictly as a hypothetical example, our menu might look something like this if we go that route:
Fresh fruit platter
Hummus with pita bread and vegetables platter
Assorted sushi & nigri platter
Coconut shrimp
Sausage and cheese stuffed mushrooms
Spinach & artichoke dip
Assorted cookies and dessert bar
One drink ticket, redeemable at the bar
All told they have about 30 choices for this, plus I'm sure we could ask for something special if we really wanted it.
And really, I think that's the way this thing is evolving. It started out as a "dinner" with entrees and salads and things like that, but it's quickly progressing into a party. There definitely has to be lots and lots of food, but appetizers and finger foods are definitely more party friendly than an entree which requires a fork and knife. So I think having a giant table with tons of food that's easy to grab and quick to eat might be the way to go.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
That's is an awesome idea. Maybe even get Khoo to help us. He's always down for helping us out.
My only real big problems with that is....
1. Would there be room for 100 people, plus a whole Rock Band set up?
(Like will it be in the way of people trying to move around and/or play pool.)
2. How long would people be down for playing it?
(Some people just don't like Rock Band and/or The Beatles. And other games may be asked to be set up.)
[Will other 360s be brought to The Taphouse, to fix this problem?]
Also, the way they bill the Billiards Lounge is "ideal for personal or corporate functions where fun is the goal. Guests can dine, drink, and play in complete privacy." So I think they know that people are going to be up and about.
Plus, a Rock Band setup isn't all that big. You were on the train last year, we got a whole Rock Band setup in that arcade car.
BUT, these are valid questions, and my assumption does not equal a definite answer by any means. Despite my confidence that it won't be a problem, these go on my list of things to double-check with Lindsay to ensure a crisis-free evening of debauchery. Thank you for asking.
As far as consoles go, we've got two screens, 120" each. I'm thinking a Wii and a 360 might be the way to go. We can do Wii Sports/Brawl/Rabbids or something on the Wii, and Rock Band/Halo/Castle Crashers/L4D on the 360. We can always take a vote on the games and switch them out throughout the night, so almost everyone gets something they want. No idea if they can give our consoles Internet or not. That's something I have to figure out down the line.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
How can I forget, I was down there the whole time it was up. :P
Anytime and place...I am really to Rock(Band).
Edit- Somewhere there is a video of me playing the drums on the train, swaying side to side with the train.
People will have to add like a 2% service fee for PayPal if you are in the states and I think its a bit more if you are Canadian.
Personally I think Taphouse is ripping you off. I stayed quiet about this until I read the last thing you received from L. With the amount of people that could be coming, she should charge a flat rate for the whole evening which would include all you can eat buffet. Personally, I find the price high. If this were being done locally, they would give you the room, equipment and food at a flat rate and not charge per person. They are making a killer of profit on this even if they charge a flat rate. It is not like they are going to get an extra 100 or so costumers on that day without us.
I didn't know this was that kind of party. :P
LOL oops. My brain is tired. Been fighting with java script, php and MySQL for a couple of days now.
"customers" but I like costumers better lol
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
So let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You pay 3250 and it doesn't matter how many people show up, everything (minus drinks) is covered, including unlimited food.
I don't know about unlimited. It's a buffet, not an all you can eat buffet. At least that's what I think. I can double-check with Lindsay.
But, yes. They don't charge any kind of fee or deposit for the room. All they care about is the spending minimum. That's why we have to come up with $3250. We have to spend $3250 on food/drinks to get the room. That's the deal.
And to be honest, I don't think they really care whether we come or not. It's a restaurant like two blocks from PAX. They will most certainly fill up that weekend, all weekend.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
Hmmm. I am still not sure about this for some odd reason. Something isn't adding up right in my head about what Lindsay is offering, especially for that price for a buffet. Because it sounds like if more people come once the minimum spending is achieved either through food and drink, the will increase the bill at the end of the night.
If that price is both for food and drink, I am betting it will be a lot more once the end of the night roles around because of the drink part. Say only 50 people show up at 38 bux a plate. That is 1900 dollars. But they each spend on average 25 bux for drinks on top of it (factoring in non-drinkers), that is 1250 there for drinks. So the bill (before tip and tax) is already at 3150. By the time the end of the night rolls around, the bill is going to be much higher unless a deal is arranged that we pay this much for food and non-alcoholic drinks regardless of how many people show up, all you can eat, equipment is including and then pay for drinks on top of it.
1) The buffet is pricy because it's the only way they can logistically feed 100+ people at the same time. If you were a regular customer on a regular night, you could get a good meal at the Taphouse for $20. But because they have to serve this many people, they have to serve us a buffet. Having us all order individually off the menu is both risky, in terms of meeting the spending minimum, and complete and utter chaos, in terms of their staff. Factored into the price for the buffet is not only the food - it's the massive effort required by the kitchen to generate that much food all at once, the setup, tear down, constant attention, etc. that's required for the buffet, PLUS everything else regarding the room. We aren't paying a deposit or a room rental fee, an audio video fee, or even a bartender fee. We get all of that, our own private bar, the pool tables, the projectors, the space, and the food, for $3250. Again, I'm banking on 100 guests and charging $35 a piece to give us a little bit of a buffer ($250). If we don't end up needing that buffer we can do a raffle or something. That's a minor detail for later. Basically the spending minimum is $3500.
2) There is no "bill" at the end of the night. If you're coming to the party, you're giving me $35 and I'm putting that into the pot for the food/drink spending minimum, with the idea being that we need 100 people at that price to reach that minimum. I could've set the goal at 90 people and $39 a piece. It doesn't really matter. The point is, the more people come, the easier and cheaper it is for each individual guest to contribute to the spending minimum, and thus, the party is more affordable and accessible for all. This is why I've stressed so heavily on the front page that we must have 100 people pre-register with me. We have to spend that much money, and I want each contribution to be as small as possible.
3) If I hand Taphouse a check for $3500 at the beginning of the night, we don't owe them anything after that. We're done. They're happy. Everything is square. If more money is spent after the spending minimum is reached, that's just good for the Taphouse. My expectation is that we will spend significantly more than $35. If we get 100 people and each one of them orders a single drink beyond what's included in the $35, that's another $500 or whatever. That's one drink per person. I imagine it will be significantly more than that. But none of that matters to us, or to me. All that's important is that we give them $3500.
4) If anybody wants anything that isn't part of that $35, like more food, drinks, etc. it's on them. There's no "group tab." They're paying cash. The only thing that I'm responsible for as the person in charge and the person who signed the contract is meeting the $3500 spending minimum, and because I'm going to be handing them a check for that spending minimum before the party even starts, I'm not responsible for anything more or less than anyone else. There will be no discussion of the bill at the end of the night. There will be no bill. At the beginning of the party we could all drop dead, and they wouldn't care. Their minimum is met, their conditions are satisfied.
5) As far as more people showing up... basically we need either 50 people (for the Club Room), 100 people (for the Billiards Lounge), or 150 people (for both). The per-person is exactly the same in all those situations. We start to get into trouble at, say, 75 or 125 people, because then we're overflowing into another space but not FILLING that space. That causes the per-person price to go up.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
I still think it's a lot of money to spend to basically hang out with people and have a good time. The projectors and pool tables etc do not interest me. I wouldn't even be using them. I won't be drinking. So considering what use I would get from it, I think I am going to have to say no to this and do the twitter shitter's thing instead. That event I would be able to participate more in than just eating and talking.
This is what I was talking about last night. Remember though that Tax/tip are not included, so if we want bill/tax/tip to equal 35, our spending limit on food is 27 (almost exactly).
Oh right! Right. Good point.
I e-mailed Lindsay and ran that exact scenario by her. Let's see if she's as sharp as you are.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
Inquisitor77: Rius, you are Sisyphus and melee Wizard is your boulder
Tube: This must be what it felt like to be an Iraqi when Saddam was killed
Bookish Stickers - Mrs. Rius' Etsy shop with bumper stickers and vinyl decals.
Also:
Agreed!
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
Yeah, there's twitting and shitting to be done as well! :P
Every time I visit this thread I imagine you looking like Stan in your avatar dealing with all this stuff. I'm sure it will all be worth it though when good times and good booze are had by all.
"Read twice, post once. It's almost like 'measure twice, cut once' only with reading." - MetaverseNomad
Any suggestions? I'm clueless. This is something I've never asked the Internet to do for me.
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!
You could ask in the Help/Advice forum, they always give good info.
It's not free, but it's almost free. Between the PayPal credit card fees and the ticketing/event website fees, we're paying $2.50 per person. I think we can all live with that. That bumps the pre-registration cost to $37.50. Again, I think we can all live with that. I've spent lots of time over the past week or so investigating the online ticketing world, and nobody does it for free. Either you pay for the event organizing/ticketing website, or you pay for the credit card services, or you pay for both. $2.50 is reasonable enough I guess, I'm just going to swallow my stupid "I should be able to do this for free" instinct and shut up.
SO. In a few minutes you will find a button on the front page that will allow you to finally give me money. You should all do that.
EDIT: PRE-REGISTRATION IS NOW LIVE!
Organizer of the Post-PAX Party. You should come!
Satellite Theater for life!