Buckeye Speed Bash 2016 Feedback Thread

2016-06-27 06:17:13 pm

NowOwnsAFreaking Plane

All right everyone, it's been just a little over two weeks since the event (which is really hard to believe), and we want feedback for next year's event. I think everyone that was there can agree on certain points, so expect to see some stuff echoed throughout.

Let's get the positive first: I don't think there was a bad run or game on the schedule. We had a lot of variety in game selection, which is great for a first year in person event. Even with the variety, we still hit all the main series (Kirby, Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Castlevania all got represented), but we got some cool stuff too that's not so mainstream (Saturn game on the schedule, Moonwalker, a randomly generated dungeon crawler, an indie PC racing game, MMBN were all there too). Game selection and the runners we got were on point, commentary was generally pretty chill but informative. From that aspect, we did pretty daggon amazing. Might be helpful next year to schedule a little bit more who is on couch at what time next year, but I think it worked out well this time.

Layouts: I think they were amazing personally, massive shoutouts to TheBlacktastic for getting us those.

Tech issues: Wow, did this ever come back on us. First streaming computer decided to die in the first run of the marathon, and we got a late start trying to set it up. 2cd stream computer couldn't handle 2 capture cards at once, which forced us to ax races from the schedule and make them solo runs. Fortunately, all the runners at the event were amazing and willing to greatly shift around the schedule, which allowed us to actually finish all the runs. But, we really need to do as much as we can to negate tech issues next year. The best option is to not try setup morning of and give ourselves only 5 hours. Next year, get the room for a half day before, do setup in a relaxed environment and give ourselves more time to test stuff before hand (which would hopefully avoid having a computer blow up the first run, and then backup setup not be able to do multiple capture cards).

Hotel: We are not going back to Holiday Inn OSU campus. Ever. End of story. Overcharging us about $230 based on what the original contract was written as, terrible internet, etc... Not going back there. At least the staff was really nice /shrugs. We need to find a better location next time and actually figure out how much it will really cost. With how many people we have local in Columbus, I think we should aim for Columbus again, and I'm sure we'll get a better location.

I'm just going to post what I stated in my post-BSB pastebin when it comes to charity:
The question has come up multiple times of whether we should have set up a charity drive with the event. First off, I'm very glad we didn't do that this year. I think it would have been quite terrible with all the tech issues we had and would have reflected poorly on anyone we would have been linked too. Also, I think it changes the game selection. Without a charity, we could focus on what we felt would be fun and giving as many people a chance to show off runs. If you bring in a charity, you just have to consider donation incentives in the games selection process. I really don't like the thought of opening that can of worms. However, this doesn't mean that we should write off the idea of being with a charity: it would still be a great cause. If we do, there is the question of whether we should be focused on a local charity or something international. If we do international, I will say that Charity:Water is at the top of my list. Locally, I'm not sure. I don't know local charities in Columbus (since I don't actually live anywhere near Columbus) and would need help with such choices. I do know that I can get a lot of help in that area, as I had multiple people give suggestions of who to work with.

We could have done more advertising the event, but I think we got quite a few people watching for a first time event, and I'm sure it will only grow over time. Looking for more sources to advertise the stream wouldn't hurt.

I had wanted to set up an online marathon to help allay some of the costs due to the extra junk from the hotel, but my home internet prevented it from actually happening. Massively sorry to people who put time into trying to get that set up and I really have no excuse to give to you. All I can say is sorry, it was my fault for it not coming together.

That's the gist of the event. The event was much more amazing than I thought it would turn out, and next year I need to make sure I never have to exit the stream room for work related reasons. I'm sure others have plenty to say, so give your feedback whether you attended or watched us on Twitch.

Thread title:

Let's get the positive first:  I don't think there was a bad run or game on the schedule.  We had a lot of variety in game selection, which is great for a first year in person event.  Even with the variety, we still hit all the main series (Kirby, Mario, Zelda, Pokemon and Castlevania all got represented), but we got some cool stuff too that's not so mainstream (Saturn game on the schedule, Moonwalker, a randomly generated dungeon crawler, an indie PC racing game, MMBN were all there too).  Game selection and the runners we got were on point, commentary was generally pretty chill but informative.  From that aspect, we did pretty daggon amazing.  Might be helpful next year to schedule a little bit more who is on couch at what time next year, but I think it worked out well this time.

Layouts:  I think they were amazing personally, massive shoutouts to TheBlacktastic for getting us those.

Tech issues:  Wow, did this ever come back on us.  First streaming computer decided to die in the first run of the marathon, and we got a late start trying to set it up.  2cd stream computer couldn't handle 2 capture cards at once, which forced us to ax races from the schedule and make them solo runs.  Fortunately, all the runners at the event were amazing and willing to greatly shift around the schedule, which allowed us to actually finish all the runs.  But, we really need to do as much as we can to negate tech issues next year.  The best option is to not try setup morning of and give ourselves only 5 hours.  Next year, get the room for a half day before, do setup in a relaxed environment and give ourselves more time to test stuff before hand (which would hopefully avoid having a computer blow up the first run, and then backup setup not be able to do multiple capture cards).

Hotel: We are not going back to Holiday Inn OSU campus.  Ever.  End of story.  Overcharging us about $230 based on what the original contract was written as, terrible internet, etc...  Not going back there.  At least the staff was really nice /shrugs.  We need to find a better location next time and actually figure out how much it will really cost.  With how many people we have local in Columbus, I think we should aim for Columbus again, and I'm sure we'll get a better location.

I'm just going to post what I stated in my post-BSB pastebin when it comes to charity:
The question has come up multiple times of whether we should have set up a charity drive with the event.  First off, I'm very glad we didn't do that this year.  I think it would have been quite terrible with all the tech issues we had and would have reflected poorly on anyone we would have been linked too.  Also, I think it changes the game selection.  Without a charity, we could focus on what we felt would be fun and giving as many people a chance to show off runs.  If you bring in a charity, you just have to consider donation incentives in the games selection process.  I really don't like the thought of opening that can of worms.  However, this doesn't mean that we should write off the idea of being with a charity: it would still be a great cause.  If we do, there is the question of whether we should be focused on a local charity or something international.  If we do international, I will say that Charity:Water is at the top of my list.  Locally, I'm not sure.  I don't know local charities in Columbus (since I don't actually live anywhere near Columbus) and would need help with such choices.  I do know that I can get a lot of help in that area, as I had multiple people give suggestions of who to work with.

We could have done more advertising the event, but I think we got quite a few people watching for a first time event, and I'm sure it will only grow over time.  Looking for more sources to advertise the stream wouldn't hurt.

I had wanted to set up an online marathon to help allay some of the costs due to the extra junk from the hotel, but my home internet prevented it from actually happening.  Massively sorry to people who put time into trying to get that set up and I really have no excuse to give to you.  All I can say is sorry, it was my fault for it not coming together.

That's the gist of the event.  The event was much more amazing than I thought it would turn out, and next year I need to make sure I never have to exit the stream room for work related reasons.  I'm sure others have plenty to say, so give your feedback whether you attended or watched us on Twitch.

lightningluke81

Edit history:

lightningluke81: 2016-06-29 12:12:59 am

2016-06-29 12:11:37 am

Okay, so a majority of what I wrote up here, was written up 2 weeks ago. Only thing here that I really wanted to update, is that I would like to say I’m sorry if I acted pretty strangely at times. I’ve been pushing my limits mentally and physically trying to get good work outs, and trying to cut back on caffeine. Caffeine especially has a strong grip on me, and gives me migraines when I don’t have enough. So I think the only person that may have been affected by this is Furious Paul, when I tried to hand him his game without his system or the T.V. I brought specifically for him. I just hope it didn’t get on your nerves and somehow affect your CV4 run.

On the subject of the CV4 run I unfortunately asked a couple of people to quiet down for the runner. I didn’t want to shout and take away Paul’s concentration. It also doesn’t feel good telling someone to be quiet for the runner. I wasn’t able to do it without feeling like I was being too condescending. So I feel like we should set up a couple of different things here to prevent this from happening. I’d like to see a couch thread in discord, and I’d like to see a thread for people that have special requirements for their runs. While I was there I had no idea who needed quiet for their runs unless it was called out. Some people have very intense runs that require their full concentration. I feel it’s crappy if we don’t respect this and show them the same respect we would want for our runs.

While I’m talking about it. I’d like to mention my run briefly. I went about 25 minutes over my estimate which kind of upset me. But it had a lot to do with a lot of minor things going on. I still think I had a very mild case of sunstroke. I wasn’t using my own TV. so it made it hard for me to judge the distance of where I was moving. I think it kind of threw me way off. Then I didn’t know I needed the audio for my run. Turns out I did. Then I just found out too late in the run that my RNG was un-manageable. So like it wasn’t really just any one thing, but I couldn’t avoid it at the time without having it happen before. It won’t be something I linger on, but I want it to be better for next time, and I don’t want to be shut out of future event, or be follow blocked by bad performances. That’s really what bothered me about it.

I liked the talk show that we did before the event. But I’d like to see a different format for it. I wanted to talk about each run in order, one by one. This way we get everyone’s thoughts on the runs before we progress. I feel like each run didn’t get a proper enough introduction because we were a little to all over the place with the presentation.

We only had one system set up at a time. There was no problem this time because of the length of the marathon. In the next event, I suggest we have at least 3 or 4 systems sitting out at one time this way we can quickly rotate to the next game. 3 or 4 is also a low enough number that we shouldn’t have to worry much about cords tangling up. We should probably work the schedule around this.

OBS studio is definitely a must for next year. I’m not completely convinced that it was the capture card that was messing up, and I know I’ve mentioned this before. I simply think that the normal OBS software; the one that I use; the one that a lot of us use; it’s just not suited for capturing races.
There seemed to be a lack of laptops for the event. We had just enough for the organizers, but I think having extra for placing notes on would be helpful for organization, and maybe for the couch crew. I understand if this gets dismissed for people that want to protect their personal information on their devices.

Space was definitely an issue for this type of event. I felt like we were a bit cramped all the time, and there were a lot of times were people felt awkward about doing certain thing because of the crowd in their way.

Next year will require a donation station. I am already set up with an organization that would be more than happy to help us if we need it. You can check them out at the fallen15.org. I can also set us up with a website. The thing is, if I do it alone it is going to look like crap. So I can get things started if we are all agreed, but I’m going to need plenty of other admins to help run the website and update it.

I would have done it this year, but I was super busy and forgot. I can make a pretty decent promo video to go along with the other promo video’s. It won’t be heavily edited, but all the same, I think it would be a nice addition.

I personally would like to know exactly who is part of the tech crew next year because I had no idea what exactly was going on with that this year. I wanted to jump in and help, but I realized quickly that it was wrong to even want to do that. Whoever is part of the tech crew needs to be on the tech stuff. No one else should be near the equipment unless they know exactly what is going on, and have talked to someone in that department about it first.

Remember we will need extra equipment set up next year for donation reading.

So in closing, I'd like to say, I had a lot of fun and will attend next year.

On the subject of the CV4 run I unfortunately asked a couple of people to quiet down for the runner. I didn’t want to shout and take away Paul’s concentration. It also doesn’t feel good telling someone to be quiet for the runner. I wasn’t able to do it without feeling like I was being too condescending. So I feel like we should set up a couple of different things here to prevent this from happening. I’d like to see a couch thread in discord, and I’d like to see a thread for people that have special requirements for their runs. While I was there I had no idea who needed quiet for their runs unless it was called out. Some people have very intense runs that require their full concentration. I feel it’s crappy if we don’t respect this and show them the same respect we would want for our runs.

While I’m talking about it. I’d like to mention my run briefly. I went about 25 minutes over my estimate which kind of upset me. But it had a lot to do with a lot of minor things going on. I still think I had a very mild case of sunstroke. I wasn’t using my own TV. so it made it hard for me to judge the distance of where I was moving. I think it kind of threw me way off. Then I didn’t know I needed the audio for my run. Turns out I did. Then I just found out too late in the run that my RNG was un-manageable. So like it wasn’t really just any one thing, but I couldn’t avoid it at the time without having it happen before. It won’t be something I linger on, but I want it to be better for next time, and I don’t want to be shut out of future event, or be follow blocked by bad performances. That’s really what bothered me about it.

I liked the talk show that we did before the event. But I’d like to see a different format for it. I wanted to talk about each run in order, one by one. This way we get everyone’s thoughts on the runs before we progress. I feel like each run didn’t get a proper enough introduction because we were a little to all over the place with the presentation.

We only had one system set up at a time. There was no problem this time because of the length of the marathon. In the next event, I suggest we have at least 3 or 4 systems sitting out at one time this way we can quickly rotate to the next game. 3 or 4 is also a low enough number that we shouldn’t have to worry much about cords tangling up. We should probably work the schedule around this.

OBS studio is definitely a must for next year. I’m not completely convinced that it was the capture card that was messing up, and I know I’ve mentioned this before. I simply think that the normal OBS software; the one that I use; the one that a lot of us use; it’s just not suited for capturing races. 
There seemed to be a lack of laptops for the event. We had just enough for the organizers, but I think having extra for placing notes on would be helpful for organization, and maybe for the couch crew. I understand if this gets dismissed for people that want to protect their personal information on their devices.

Space was definitely an issue for this type of event. I felt like we were a bit cramped all the time, and there were a lot of times were people felt awkward about doing certain thing because of the crowd in their way.

Next year will require a donation station. I am already set up with an organization that would be more than happy to help us if we need it. You can check them out at the fallen15.org. I can also set us up with a website. The thing is, if I do it alone it is going to look like crap. So I can get things started if we are all agreed, but I’m going to need plenty of other admins to help run the website and update it.

I would have done it this year, but I was super busy and forgot. I can make a pretty decent promo video to go along with the other promo video’s. It won’t be heavily edited, but all the same, I think it would be a nice addition.

I personally would like to know exactly who is part of the tech crew next year because I had no idea what exactly was going on with that this year. I wanted to jump in and help, but I realized quickly that it was wrong to even want to do that. Whoever is part of the tech crew needs to be on the tech stuff. No one else should be near the equipment unless they know exactly what is going on, and have talked to someone in that department about it first.

Remember we will need extra equipment set up next year for donation reading.

So in closing, I'd like to say, I had a lot of fun and will attend next year.