Improvements they could make for Fan Fest 2015

[Leash]

I’ve been attending conventions since I was 11 and here are my thoughts and responses.

I’m going to mention the cons first because I like to leave on a good note.


Cons:

Priority to those that have not tried any of the challenges. I was unable to do all of them because the costume contest took up so much of my time. I’m glad I got to do Odin, but I was cutting it pretty close to when I had to rush back to my room to get ready. I was unable to do the other challenges because of long lines in Extreme and Speed Run.

The Badges, could have been much better. The kind we got are prone to breaking and tearing. It would have been nice if we got a hard credit-card type and then just had out names printed out on a sticker and stuck on them.

Merchandise lines were slow and I didn't get everything I wanted before they sold out. I had to step out to do the costume contest. (Maybe have everyone that bought a ticket do a survey before the Fest and gauge what merchandise they want? It should help from selling out so quickly).



Pros:

I know some are complaining about it being at the Rio instead of another hotel on the Strip, but I have to say that a convention like this, it is way better to be farther away from the congestion of the Strip. Theft and unwanted things happen around drunk people, having the con just off the Strip was very smart. The plus side of also having it in Vegas, AC. Those hotels are always running AC and keeping the place just the right temp. I think it was a good choice as it gave plenty of opportunities for people coming in to check out other things Vegas has to offer. The Rio also wasn’t as crowded as other hotels I know on the strip.

The room it was held in was awesome. It did get congested and at the closing ceremonies there was no place to sit so I had to sit in the back aisle. But I loved how everything was in one room, it gave the option to watch the panels while in line for one of the challenges. The multiple screens were great! Please keep it like this, everything in one room.

The STAFF! The staff and retainers were wonderful! In all my years attending conventions, by far the selection of fun and helpful staff members were beyond great. Other conventions don’t even come close to how wonderful you guys were. Thank you!


This was literally the best convention I have been to in a very very long time.

[axemtitanium]

Additionally I feel like odin should have had headsets too. It was nearly impossible for the tanks and healers to communicate split on opposite sides of the row. This lead to wipes that could have been avoided and thus more attempts.

This this this this this. Or alternatively, place tanks and healers next to each other and dps on one or both sides of them.

[Vilhem]

I agree that being just off the strip was a HUGE bonus. I wandered out there a few times and it was pretty crazy haha. Plus, the Strip is where wallets go to die. At least at my hotel (Gold Coast) it was less crowded, and the Rio DID have shuttles to two hotels on the Strip, so it's not like they were completely inaccessible.

[mbncd]

Can you have a 4th Fanfest in Australia?

Please, this! I REALLY wanted to go but my options were to travel from my own home city of Brisbane to Europe/NA (both about a third of the way around the planet in opposite directions) or learn a whole other language. As a disabled pensioner, this was simply impossible.

Even if the event wasn't in my state, I could have travelled to one of the others for far less than the thousands of dollars the airfares to EU/NA would have cost (not even counting hotel costs, living costs or event costs). Personally, I'd love is if SE brought FFXIV to Brisbane but Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide seem to get most of the conventions so they would work too.



Edit:
By the way, I did buy the streams to both of the English speaking FanFests. If they'll have English translations of the major events in the JP speaking event I'd be willing to buy that too but I think that will be highly unlikely.



Edit 2: Oh, and as far as feedback to the NA FanFest stream goes, I really only have a few things to mention.

Firstly, I believe someone already stated this but the constant replaying of the trailers became a little grating. I ended up sleeping through many of the events and things due to the awkward hours in GMT+10 and then going back to watch the archived footage. After the first few times, I completely jumped over the trailers as soon as they started.

Secondly, I don't know if it was just me but I was hearing some high pitched feedback during some of the panel sessions, particularly on the last day. That whine was very uncomfortable. Not sure if that was an issue with the stream or if it was something on site or what but it was very much not a good thing.

Again, for the most part I wasn't watching the footage live. I didn't see the vast majority of the viewer chat. If, as others have mentioned, it wasn't well moderated, that's something that definitely needs work too.

Also, the archived footage should start specifically at either 10 or 10:30 (and stated as such on the schedule) and the panels should start on time. I found it quite difficult to skip to the start of scheduled events because they weren't at appropriately predictable times. Alternatively, break up the archived footage to cover specific events and cut out the music/trailer scenes in between. For instance, a specific video for the Live Letter, another for the concert, another for the keynotes, another for each session of coverage with Camate/Grek/Clutch, etc, etc, etc. That allows for much easier navigation amongst the archived footage instead of skipping through hours of footage to find the various things in a 10 hour video.

Lastly, it seems the live attendees didn't automatically get free access to the HD archived footage. That's something that should definitely change! There's far too much stuff going on in the minute at any con, it's really easy to miss a lot, especially if the crowd is noisy or there's lots to look at. Those people who attended should be able to watch the event in a quieter calmer environment at their leisure after the event so that they can really get everything out of the experience without worrying about missing too much.

[Kahoko]

I would like to see:

1. Headphones available at all event gaming areas. It is very helpful to have quick communication when going into a battle with a PUG group.

2. Have a clear and efficient way of explaining the rules of each event would be great as well. I did three speed run challenges and each time the setup rules seemed to change.

3. More space between isles would also help with enforcement of the rules. Also would be helpful for the people in costume or people with physical disabilities to participate.

4. I did not see this happening, maybe it did, but I did not witness it. Wiping down the headphones and mice after each group of people, or perhaps the option to have that done.

5. Maybe some player run panels or sessions? Would have been fun to get a group of computers (eight or sixteen) and say "Hey, still need to pass first coil? Come here and learn how!"

Kahoko

[Kahoko]

Things that I thought went well:

1. Rio is a good location. Yes it's off strip, but that means it's also less busy and easier to get around in.
2. HVAC was good, not to hot, not to cold.
3. Bathrooms close by the event area and well maintained.
4. Lots of on hand water.
5. Power strips near the water to recharge devices.
6. Staff and Retainers were very friendly and helpful.

Kahoko

[CalamityXI]

I believe this has been touched upon in a few other posts, but something I forgot to put in my original post is that more t-shirt sizes for the ones being sold would be nice. I'm around 6ft2in so having a US Mens L being the biggest size was very disheartening since I was really looking forward to getting a Before Meteor shirt and the Gaius shirt.

[Illya]

I agree that being just off the strip was a HUGE bonus. I wandered out there a few times and it was pretty crazy haha. Plus, the Strip is where wallets go to die. At least at my hotel (Gold Coast) it was less crowded, and the Rio DID have shuttles to two hotels on the Strip, so it's not like they were completely inaccessible.

I actually stayed at a hotel on the Strip (at the Excalibur, hur hur my character name Excalibur omg lol) and rode those shuttles, so I'll explain what it was really like.

The first shuttle from Bally's or Harrah's to the Rio departs at 10 am every morning. Now it turns out that Yoshi's keynote on Saturday was...at 10 am. That's right, I missed the keynote because I was waiting for the stupid shuttle to arrive and it was actually late that day so I didn't even make it inside the conventional hall until around 10:30 am, and Yoshi was already done by then.

The last shuttle from the Rio to Bally's or Harrah's departs at 1 am. However, the last 3-4 shuttles after midnight are always really full, for reasons which should be blindingly obvious. I actually went down to catch the shuttle at 12:30 on Sunday night and it filled up and I had to wait until the 1 am shuttle to get back to the Strip. I was not amused because I had to catch a flight in the morning to get home.

So no, being off the Strip was really not the best option for the Fan Fest. It was actually really inconvenient for me and I won't try that again if the next Fan Fest is also in Vegas.

[Leash]

I go to Vegas often (2-3 times a year) and the majority of the time I stay away from the Strip. My boyfriend’s family lives in Vegas and they only go to the Strip for shows.

Walking around the Strip can be dangerous, I’ve been groped before by drunk guys and its not something I like to deal with. Also with the increased crowds, it makes it easy for thieves to pick-pocket. Its packed in most of the casinos and there’s tons of road traffic all the time (I’ve almost been hit by a car on many occasions).

There were plenty of hotels within walking distance to the Rio instead of hotels on the Strip like Excalibur. The overall congestion of the Rio was pleasantly nice.

[Seyrr]

I met a guy in line who bragged about he snapped back and was a jerk to one of the retainers when they asked him not to take 10 minutes setting up.

And you promptly set that man on fire, right?

Seriously, who BRAGS about being a jerk and making things worse for everyone? The fight was clearly winnable WITHOUT all of that setup (I saw plenty of people in Odin shirts), so that guy can't have been that good if he was that dependent on his "optimal" setup. *eyeroll*