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What happened at the Fallout demo?

ArklierArklier Registered User regular
edited September 2008 in PAX Archive
I showed up around 45 minutes early, got in line with about 250 people in front of me. When 2:30 rolled around, the line maybe moved around 50 feet then stopped. Noises started coming from the main theater while we all stood around wondering what was going on. Then the line started moving again 15 minutes later and I finally got in and went to sit down, and the presentation had already started. I missed the first half an hour or so. What the hell happened? Did they open the doors before I got there or something?

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    FatimusPrimeFatimusPrime Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    The demo was actually really freakin awesome. I was dissappointed in the fact that they didnt kick everyone out from the last show to make room for those of us who were there solely for Fallout 3. I was in the second row of the line before we went in and I was barely able to find a seat. I missed all of the character creation stuff. But otherwise I enjoyed the demo alot.

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    The_ReflectionThe_Reflection Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Did anyone film it? i missed the wole thing.

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    ArklierArklier Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    They didn't throw everyone out after the create a strip panel, then? That really screwed over everyone who was waiting in line just for Fallout. :/

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    apotheosapotheos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2008
    Well when things are back to back you know thats probably going to happen...

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    HounHoun Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    This is exactly what happened yesterday with the G&T Q&A. We showed up in the line, stood around, but they never kicked anyone out from the previous presentation, and we only got in after it was half-over.

    This is also exactly why I didn't bother with hitting the Fallout3 thing today. And probably won't bother with anything in the main theater again.

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    apotheosapotheos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2008
    Come on now, if you showed up 30 minutes before the Draw the Strip you go in just fine.

    It was awesome. I'm going to go get my Pipboy puppet.

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    HounHoun Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Unless you didn't want to go to the Draw the Strip. That was the point of the thread. People that didn't camp in the Main Theater all day got screwed.

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    ArklierArklier Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Well, yeah... That was kind of the point. I went to get lunch instead of to the draw a strip panel. They were announced as separate events. I didn't know they wouldn't be clearing the room, since this was the first panel I've been to in the main theater.

    Going off of the story that appeared on Kotaku, apparently the people (and there were a lot) who were behind me in line didn't get in at all and waited in line for nothing.

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    FatimusPrimeFatimusPrime Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Wow, I consider myself rather lucky to find even one chair in that room, or to be let in for that matter. I have to say that I wana know what the people in charge were thinking by not clearing the room before hand. I bet nearly a thousand people got snubbed and weren't even told why.

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    IncredibleScottIncredibleScott Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I was one of the fortunate few who stayed after the Draw the Strip panel. It was mostly about 15 minutes of Bethesda getting set up. Afterwards they introduced the game walked out the door, introducing us to the scenery and some of the game mechanics. Not much was shown from the character creator other than that there are many ways to customize a character and a hell of a lot of beards.

    Much of the demo is on GameTrailers, so if you want to check what you missed, you can find it on that site.

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    FatimusPrimeFatimusPrime Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    Well that's good news actually. I walked in right as they were finishing about the beards and walked outside. Still though, I was waiting inline for about an hour only to find out the demo started already. Hmmm, oh well, glad I got to see most of it.

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    PliskiN|SnaKePliskiN|SnaKe Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I got in the Q&A a little after it started with plenty of seating left (no stop at the door). Half way through Q&A the seats filled and they started stopping at the door. I stayed because I was looking forward to the Fallout panel, and no they didn't clear out between.

    No character creation. Mostly just showcasing some weapons, environments and such. Old favs like pickpocketing a frag grenade onto an unsuspecting npc, targeting limbs and heads came up as well as some of the new crafted weapons made from spare parts you find in the world. A big example of a crafted weapon was the railroad gun (railway? something like that) which shot railroad spikes and whistled like a train after every shot! It also got a crit on a guy he shot and the spike stuck the guys head to a wall. wtfwoot.

    If anyone is offended, I will apologize in advance because I plan on camping main most of the day because that's where most of what I want to see is (Family Feud, Q&A, Dragon Age, Omegathon).

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    JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2008
    I went to all the main events today in the Main Theater and the ones yesterday. Pretty much got there for the first one (the Keynote and the Draw a Strip) and then just sat there until the break was over. You can't expect people who want to go to the multiple events to get up and get in the back of the line, missing out on the event.

    And the Fallout thing was pretty awesome. Fallout and Far Cry 2 were the best two presentations.

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    SpawnOfCthulhuSpawnOfCthulhu Also that Snifit guy. Gig Harbor, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    The thing about the Far Cry presentation, was the guy kept bitching about the sound system, and he died a few times.
    He also pointed out that the map editor was easy to use, but in the end he was swearing at it because it didnt pick out the proper vegitation he wanted.

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    JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2008
    Him dieing was great. It made it more real than a pre-fab presentation. Would you rather have watched a video, like the Prince of Persia shit? It showed the game was a challenge on Hard.

    And for the map editor, it was his fault he kept screwing up. He kept saying that. He was selecting the wrong option. I thought it was great and easy to use. He made the mountain range with one tool and colored it with a second. With a controller. Far Cry 2 was a great presentation.

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    SpawnOfCthulhuSpawnOfCthulhu Also that Snifit guy. Gig Harbor, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I never said anything about the guy or anything.
    I just got tired of him dying repeatidly.

    Also, (I know this is off-topic)
    When does the Queue room open up tomorrow for the line?

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    JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2008
    I never said anything about the guy either. I'm saying him dying repeatedly is more enjoyable to watch because it's a live demo. It shows that it's a real version of the game. The one thing that dragged Fallout down was the fact that he was invincible. Wasn't that real.

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    ArklierArklier Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    I went to all the main events today in the Main Theater and the ones yesterday. Pretty much got there for the first one (the Keynote and the Draw a Strip) and then just sat there until the break was over. You can't expect people who want to go to the multiple events to get up and get in the back of the line, missing out on the event.

    And the Fallout thing was pretty awesome. Fallout and Far Cry 2 were the best two presentations.

    Why not? They cleared out every other room between panels.

    Not clearing out the room just means that people who aren't interested in a particular panel take up a seat that could have gone to someone who actually wanted to see it just so they can see the next one. It's a waste of time for both the people who wait in line, and the people who would rather attend other things but instead feel they have to camp a chair.

    Is it fair to turn away people in line just because they didn't know that they had to show up early enough to snag a seat in the previous one when it was marked on the schedule as starting at a certain time? To top it all off, I saw a lot of empty seats that could have been filled. They could have at least told people to scoot together.

    IMHO, it wasn't handled well and next year they need to boot everyone out, or better yet, find some other way to ensure everyone gets a fair shot.

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    SpawnOfCthulhuSpawnOfCthulhu Also that Snifit guy. Gig Harbor, WARegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    See though, if they booted everyone out, not only would it require a small army of enforcers to get everyone out in an orderly fashion, but I went to the Make-A-Strip and the Fallout 3 demo.
    I didnt decide "Oh, this looks cool, i think i'll stay".
    I wanted to go to both of them, and if I would've been booted out, I could've only gone to one.
    So they really can't kick people out, if you don't get in, you don't get in.
    I can't tell you how many times I've been the last person in line for something I waited for 6 hours for only to be turned away ( Like Jen Taylor at the Bungie booth today or Left 4 Dead).
    You just have to deal with it. If you can't make it to something, try to go grab an early spot for another panel that you can definatly get in if you get there early.

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    JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2008
    Arklier wrote: »
    I went to all the main events today in the Main Theater and the ones yesterday. Pretty much got there for the first one (the Keynote and the Draw a Strip) and then just sat there until the break was over. You can't expect people who want to go to the multiple events to get up and get in the back of the line, missing out on the event.

    And the Fallout thing was pretty awesome. Fallout and Far Cry 2 were the best two presentations.

    Why not? They cleared out every other room between panels.

    Not clearing out the room just means that people who aren't interested in a particular panel take up a seat that could have gone to someone who actually wanted to see it just so they can see the next one. It's a waste of time for both the people who wait in line, and the people who would rather attend other things but instead feel they have to camp a chair.

    Is it fair to turn away people in line just because they didn't know that they had to show up early enough to snag a seat in the previous one when it was marked on the schedule as starting at a certain time? To top it all off, I saw a lot of empty seats that could have been filled. They could have at least told people to scoot together.

    IMHO, it wasn't handled well and next year they need to boot everyone out, or better yet, find some other way to ensure everyone gets a fair shot.

    What are you talking about? A lot of people left the Main Theater after the Make a Strip panel, hell me and my group moved up to better seats to watch the Fallout 3 panel. No one is seat camping. The Fall Out panel didn't even fill up. I have no idea why they weren't letting people in but it wasn't because it was full. Trust me. I was actually in the event.

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    beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    We stood in line for about 45 minutes and got turned away. They were asking for people in groups of certain numbers (2 or 3 people) and a bunch of us were told there was no more seating.

    I was pretty dissapointed.


    Also, just to throw my opinion in, they should absolutely have been clearing the rooms after a panel is complete. While there may have been people who wanted to go to the create-a-strip, they didn't sit in line for Fallout, thusly, they should have been asked to leave and forced to line back up.

    However, the panels were also so close together, the person who was asked to line back up, probably would have been screwed. So, there's "blame" that can go around, but in the end, it really has to do with event planning and trying to make so many things fit into a very finite timeline.

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    Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2008
    apotheos wrote: »
    Come on now, if you showed up 30 minutes before the Draw the Strip you go in just fine.

    It was awesome. I'm going to go get my Pipboy puppet.

    Honestly, I prefer it this way. The year before last, they were filing you out of a room after every event, and you had to go get in line to get into the room you just left, and ended up spending half the day in lines. It's unfortunate that some people are getting left out in the cold as it were, but you just need to plan ahead a bit more.

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    beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    apotheos wrote: »
    Come on now, if you showed up 30 minutes before the Draw the Strip you go in just fine.

    It was awesome. I'm going to go get my Pipboy puppet.

    Honestly, I prefer it this way. The year before last, they were filing you out of a room after every event, and you had to go get in line to get into the room you just left, and ended up spending half the day in lines. It's unfortunate that some people are getting left out in the cold as it were, but you just need to plan ahead a bit more.

    I have to say, I think that's complete b.s.

    However, the whole Fallout 3 things was captured by Kotaku.

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    Bionic MonkeyBionic Monkey Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited August 2008
    beta_angel wrote: »
    apotheos wrote: »
    Come on now, if you showed up 30 minutes before the Draw the Strip you go in just fine.

    It was awesome. I'm going to go get my Pipboy puppet.

    Honestly, I prefer it this way. The year before last, they were filing you out of a room after every event, and you had to go get in line to get into the room you just left, and ended up spending half the day in lines. It's unfortunate that some people are getting left out in the cold as it were, but you just need to plan ahead a bit more.

    I have to say, I think that's complete b.s.

    However, the whole Fallout 3 things was captured by Kotaku.

    Well, PAX06 was exactly what a lot of people in here are asking for, and it fucking sucked. I was ready to never come to PAX again, but gave it a shot after hearing about the move to the Convention Center, and my experience has improved dramatically.

    When I say I spent half the day in line in '06, I mean that literally. This year, I think I've spent time in about three lines over today and yesterday, and I've still gotten into just about everything I wanted.

    I'm sorry you guys aren't having a good time or getting into the stuff you want, but the current setup seems to work best for the size PAX has grown to.

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    pagerunnerpagerunner Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    One thing that would help: video screens of whatever's going on in the main theater, hanging in the line room. They've already got the cameras running, and what would it hurt?

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    enderwiggin13enderwiggin13 Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    It would take half an hour to empty the main hall and refill it again, which just won't work with back to back panels. I planned out my schedule of all the events I wanted to see before I left home. The draw-a-strip panel wasn't initially high on my list of things to see (although I really enjoyed it having gone) but it looked to me like my best bet would be to attend both to get good seats. It's unfortunate that people missed out, but maybe you need to plan better in the future.

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    beta_angelbeta_angel ColoradoRegistered User regular
    edited August 2008
    It would take half an hour to empty the main hall and refill it again, which just won't work with back to back panels. I planned out my schedule of all the events I wanted to see before I left home. The draw-a-strip panel wasn't initially high on my list of things to see (although I really enjoyed it having gone) but it looked to me like my best bet would be to attend both to get good seats. It's unfortunate that people missed out, but maybe you need to plan better in the future.

    Once again, I call shenanigans.

    If there was an actual written statement about the fact that the halls would not be emptied out, i'll gladly accept that and move right along. Otherwise, I chalk this up to time allotment of the Con itself. Spread it out over one more day, maybe this doesn't happen. Obviously, that opens up a whole other can of worms regarding cost and all that, so it's probably not feasible.

    However, next year, I would hope they make it perfectly clear that the halls will *NOT* be cleared out so that this entire discussion is completely avoided.

    The fact is, for me, the only panel I wanted to see was the Fallout panel. I missed it, *shrug*. Shit happens. I'm not all that butt hurt over it as i've probably seen a majority of what they demo'd already and I got to put my hands on the game which was far more than I had planned to do. I had a great time at PAX regardless.

    It's slightly disappointing to the hundreds of people that were turned away (especially if they were at the Keynote and saw how much space was in that room) when the lineup seemed as if it would fit in the room with little to no problem. Only, you come to find out that people who didn't have to wait in line were already granted access to the panel because they didn't have to get up from the previous one. Seems a bit short-sighted.

    I absolutely agree people should plan better. Which means if you wanted to see the create-a-strip and Fallout, you should have had to pick one and line up for it. Go to one, risk missing the other.


    In the end, it happened, it's over, moving on now. Nothing can be done about the past, so might as well move forward. I just hope that the people who experienced this (especially if it was with more than one panel) don't get put off by the whole thing and I hope the event organizers make sure to let people know exactly how they're planning on running the panels so people know they may have to watch panels prior to the one they *want* to see so they will have a seat.

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    JustinSane07JustinSane07 Really, stupid? Brockton__BANNED USERS regular
    edited August 2008
    That's bullshit as well, Beta. Look, I'm gonna say it again.

    THE FALLOUT THEATER WAS NOT FULL. THEY DID NOT TURN YOU AWAY BECAUSE IT WAS FULL. I WAS IN THERE. IT. WAS. NOT. FULL.

    I can't stress this enough. I really really can't. The enforcers shut the doors on people for a reason that's unknown.

    If I didn't come down a bad allergy attack, I would have asked at the Q&A Panel 2.

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    PikaPuffPikaPuff Registered User regular
    edited August 2008
    bleeeeeeh. no puppet for me. and they decided to only give away posters.

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    enderwiggin13enderwiggin13 Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    THE FALLOUT THEATER WAS NOT FULL. THEY DID NOT TURN YOU AWAY BECAUSE IT WAS FULL. I WAS IN THERE. IT. WAS. NOT. FULL.

    It may not have been literally full, but maybe it had reached capacity. You can only legally put so many people in a room before it becomes hazardous.

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    Red LegRed Leg Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    PikaPuff wrote: »
    bleeeeeeh. no puppet for me. and they decided to only give away posters.

    Hate to make you potentially more mad, but if you got back in line after they gave out the posters, they gave out either a puppet or a t-shirt until they were all gone. Just wanted people to know that Bethesda was pretty cool in case you were hung up on that.

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    TessonTesson Registered User regular
    edited September 2008
    Ya, I got burned by the line system Friday and Saturday.
    Friday I arrived outside of the Second Skin screening 45 min beforehand and was told that they weren't clearing the theatre before the screening and so I wouldn't be able to get in.
    On Saturday, I didn't even bother trying to get into the Fallout 3 panel because I wasn't going to be able to go to the preceding events in the main theatre.
    That night I wanted to go to the Apocalyptic Movies Night and so I planned ahead and went to the Code Monkeys panel ahead of time so that I could stay in and be sure to make it. But then they decided to clear the room between events and we were told we couldn't stay in. We went outside to get in line for the movies and the line was way long to make it in.
    Yay.

    Basically, either ALWAYS clear the room so that I can line up outside for the event I REALLY want to go to, or I'll just plan to camp a seat in the main hall from 11am to 11pm. And bring a bedpan.

    Other than that...best weekend of my life.

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