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Gripes aside, what's one specific thing YOU plan to do differently next year?
Brew78
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I see intermittent "I wish I'd done this" or "I should have done that" dispersed randomly throughout a bunch of threads, usually amidst gripes.
Its hard to filter through, so I figure a more positive thread about how people will improve their own experience might be useful.
Like, coming with more or fewer people. Different shoe type. Bringing a lunch or Camelbak. Specifying a Park&Ride to carpool from and save on parking.
Me, I'm going to mount a small whiteboard to a stick or pole of some kind to stick out of my backpack so I can announce what (3)DS game I am hosting/LFG. Also allows me to display my ingame name to people in the odd chance there's more than one of the same game in progress.
Its hard to filter through, so I figure a more positive thread about how people will improve their own experience might be useful.
Like, coming with more or fewer people. Different shoe type. Bringing a lunch or Camelbak. Specifying a Park&Ride to carpool from and save on parking.
Me, I'm going to mount a small whiteboard to a stick or pole of some kind to stick out of my backpack so I can announce what (3)DS game I am hosting/LFG. Also allows me to display my ingame name to people in the odd chance there's more than one of the same game in progress.
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1. Got 3 hours sleep Thursday night due to people snoring/tossing & turning (5 ppl in the hotel room). This REALLY screwed things up for me on Friday, I left the expo hall around 4:00 to take a nap but still never fully recovered the entire weekend.
2. At one point, 7 people were expected to stay in the hotel room with me which only had 2 beds. 5 was bad enough, doing things my way next year.
3. Avoiding panels, unless they are after Expo Hall hours. Missed out on the final 4 hours of PAX sitting in line for the Gearbox panel, great panel but too much time between waiting & the panel itself.
That is why you pack ear plugs (and possibly a sleeping mask). I fall asleep with isolating earbuds so I can't hear everyone sleeping and they can't hear what I'm listening to.
Also, the first day I really messed up because I didn't understand how the line system worked and because of that missed both the PA Q&A and Rooster Teeth panel on Friday. I'll not make the same mistake again.
2) I didn't find out about the free "paint a miniature" area in the tabletop section until Sunday afternoon, so next year I plan on doing that. I take forever painting so doing it last-minute Sunday afternoon before the drive home was out.
3) Actually score a swag bag. By the time we got there on Saturday, we were told they were out of swag bags.
I ♥ making awesome crafts! I ♥ my Cookie Brigaders!
Future game art lady!
Oh and also take better pictures. This year i had a new camera and i screwed some things up. Fixing that next year...well and at Prime as well.
Though, I guess Cards Against Humanity sort of counts, but it's not what I meant going in!
1. Take more pictures.
2. Not oversleep and miss the train home.
3. Find a game of D&D. I found the learn D&D queue at the WotC booth too late on Friday. Saturday the queues seemed to be gone (or I just have a horrible sense of direction), and Sunday I was too busy.
4. Meet/talk to/play games with more people
5. Maybe be an enforcer?!?!?
Dude, last Prime was my fourth PAX, and I've said the exact same thing every year. I wonder how hard it would be to find someone willing to DM a newbie game of D&D.
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PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
There is the WoTC Learn to Play which I did, but I am sure you could probably find someone who is willing to do so otherwise. Kiashien was nice enough to DM a Shadowrun game for us noobs. :P
As for what would I do different:
1) I would stay closer to the convention center. I was in Jamaica Plain which was an easy commute, but still took about 25 minutes and I was always paranoid about getting out too late and missing the last train.
2) As someone stated above, I'd like to try and meet more forum peeps. Guess eventually I'll have to get over my shyness.
There was also a dude sitting in the Tabletop Freeplay area who would run newbies through D&D. When one game was over, he would just stand up and hold the Players Guide up in the air.
After the first PAX East I actually tried to suggest to FatherFletch a computerized LFG system for the TT area. I still think about it from time to time (especially right before/after PAX). Basically it would be a little server with some backend magick. You could connect to it via your smartphone/tablet/computer - and ideally have a thin client or two at the TT Library in the event of total wireless meltdown - to see what people were playing. You could post a LFG or LFP, browse other games that were waiting on people, etc.
I have the opposite problem of a lot of you guys. I end up spending the whole day between Tabletop and BYOC and barely do/see anything in the expo hall. It just seems a lot more rewarding, since I don't have to wait in lines for anything, and even when I do (3 hour wait for D&D Next what) I play games in line for other games.
Have I got good news for you! Go here: http://tweet-wall.herokuapp.com/tt then tweet something with the hashtag "#ttlfg". I've made something similar for the past few PAXes. I'm going to work on a new design for Prime so we can have the projector again.
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
I know a few people who have been kicking around an idea like this. Maybe it will eventually come to fruition.
That is pretty cool, although it is kind of literally a wall of text... is there any way to drill down in there if you are looking for a specific game or anything?
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
Yeah... the system I was storyboarding would have a "main screen" like that to be displayed via projector near the Tabletop Library, but it would also have a web interface and iOS/Android apps that could directly interface with it to query games, locations, etc. So you could make a post
"LFM - Need 3
Game - Arkham Horror
Location - Tabletop Freeplay Table 37"
And you could filter your search based on games nearby (if geolocation works adequately in the BCEC) or by games with enough open slots (if there are 2 of you for example).
3DS Friend Code: 2707-1614-5576
PAX Prime 2014 Buttoneering!
1. Try to get a spot at the Westin. It'll cost more, but it would be so much easier.
2. Have meals ready to go in advance. Takes a bit of planning and work, but it would save time and money.
3. Less panels, more time in the tabletop. I was there a fair bit as it was, but I tended to enjoy the games I played there more than I was into the whole panel thing. And it seems I can always see those panels later on Youtube. It's not quite the same, but it's still something.
Didn't the Westin announce plans last year to add a whole bunch of new rooms sometime soon? This would be a welcome addition, as getting a room in the Westin PAX block is the most important (and harrowing) part of gearing up for PAX every year. I end up obsessively tracking the forums and the twitters for a couple months beforehand.
Speaking of that, I think I remember you living in our area(MD) from the train thread. If you ever feel the need for more tabletop, or need something to tide you ever till next PAX, feel free to stop by some time for some games.
Also, while I saw a great selection of games and saw a few panels, what I didn't get a chance to do was play any tabletop games. Not a sniff of Munchkin, not a whiff of D&D.
Plus, sleep. Need more sleep the day before leaving as the 12hr drive back was fraught with tiredness.
tl;dr : Social Events, Tabletop, Pre-Travel Sleep.
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1. Westin. Don't get me wrong, the Omni Parker was nice, but I'd rather be closer to the con next year for one main reason: swag drop off. I had to leave Friday and Saturday because my backpack was full both days [partially my fault because i also stuffed my coat inside when it was too hot], and yeah, the shuttles helped, but that time away from the con is time lost where I could've been queued for one of those Triple-AAA games I didn't play.
2. Get to know more people before going. I got to know some of the guys in my roomshare, but there were an awful lot of moments I spent awkward turtling around the floor. The people in line were nice, but I don't feel like i created any lasting friendships.
3. Bring more CASH - There were still a few vendors that didn't take cards, and i wanted to buy some stuff - but couldn't, because.. well. you know.
4. Make good on that promise to myself where i was going to bring snacks and drinks to the con - I fell victim to that $6 piece of pizza, and 2 of those $3.50 vending machine bottles of soda... that's $13 i could've saved right there, plus, snacks would prevent me from escaping and going away for food and losing more time [see 1.]
5. Party. Seems like i missed out on a lot during the Friday night parties.
6. Never, ever, EVER book a flight leaving Boston at 7:00am ever again. Almost missed my flight.. le sigh.
7. Don't waste my money on that damn week pass for the T next time - I rode it all of twice. $11 saved if i had just paid for the 2 rides.
8. Cabs are a no-no. While I only took 2, I should've avoided the first one and saved $10. While the cab ride Monday was inevitable, I should've walked back to the hotel from the gaming night at the Westin.
9. Actually bring my phone charger next time, instead of fucking up and buying one in Boston. ouch.
2. Don't cosplay. It made me tired, stressed, and in pain. I had fun, but not enough that it was worth it.
3. Spend more time in the expo hall. I saw some great panels, but I didn't get to spend any time in the expo hall until Saturday, by which point I'd missed out on a lot of awesome swag. It turned out that the panels were all filmed anyway, so I could've just watched them later.
4. More tabletop. I didn't get to do any at all!
5. Hit the PC Freeplay area. Despite my desire to demo Diablo III, I never did make it.
6. Stay the extra night. The 11-hour drive overnight on Sunday was torture.
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For me, I'd have to say I'd like to do some freeplay tabletop stuff, even if I have no idea what I am doing. Socialize a bit more outside of my group, not to their exclusion, I think it would be cool if we all met new friends at PAX. I'm still waffling on doing BYOC next year, mostly because hauling my PC to the train station, to the hotel, to BCEC (these last two being on the T) and back was not my favorite experience, and I barely played any games anyway.
There is a plan to expand the BCEC by a massive amount over the next X number of years (nobody knows what X is). This would include adding on to the Westin, doubling the size of the BCEC itself, adding a second attached hotel, and a third hotel between the westin and the seaport. These changes will likely have zero effect on us in the next few years.
Yeah I knew they announced plans, just couldn't recall the timeline or the magnitude.
Also, I need to simply ignore big-ticket games. I planned my Sunday morning around getting in line early for Borderlands 2, but it wasn't even feasible by the time I got in from the queue line. Just need to check out as many indie games as possible. Giant Bomb tends to pick out good ones during their panel--I saw 2-3 cool games on Sunday I may not have seen otherwise.
I'm debating whether checking out as many panels as I did was worth it. I waited in long lines for Giant Bomb, Major Nelson, Irrational, and Gearbox--I'd say Giant Bomb and Gearbox were 100% worth it, the others were fun as well but not as "can't miss". However, the panels were the best part of PAX for me this year, so I'll likely continue to go to the ones on top of my list.
2) NOT at the Westin. Convenience to the convention hall is ALL that place has going for it, and it's not enough for the price.
3) get a better flash for low light photography
4) hopefully have a smartphone.
5) messenger bag, not backpack.
2) Have a panel plan before getting there. I didnt do this either time ive been to pax and i always kick myself for it. Really love the panels and need to have a better idea about what I want to see going into it.