Fanfest survival guide?

[synesthetic]

I don't travel and I've never been to a similar event before. Please help people like me who are unfamiliar with the experience or location be more prepared?

Some sample questions to field:

• Anything in particular I should carry onhand? Or NOT carry onhand?
• Is it safe to leave valuable belongings in hotel rooms?
• Know of any good and/or affordable food options near the venue?
• How's the weather?
• How much can I expect to spend on stuff sold at the event?
• Can I film or take pictures?

[Ryuko]

• Anything in particular I should carry onhand? Or NOT carry onhand?
• Is it safe to leave valuable belongings in hotel rooms?
• Know of any good and/or affordable food options near the venue?
• How's the weather?
• How much can I expect to spend on stuff sold at the event?
• Can I film or take pictures?

I'll see if I can answer your questions based on my 2014 experience... But, this is a different venue, different year, and different event... so please don't take it out on me if things are different. :P

1) When I picked up my tickets, they gave us a little goody bag. The goody bag had strings attached, and closed via a drawstring, so you could just sling it over your back and use it as storage. Inside the goody bag was a t-shirt, schedule, workbook (for events), pens, temporary tattoos (including the legacy tattoo), and a little USB rechargeable battery. All of this stuff was great, but really the only thing I carried with me was a bottle of water and my pass (which I wore on my neck). I'm sure there will be water around, but I'm a neurotic person about always having water on hand. If you'll be taking a lot of pictures, it might be worth it to bring a rechargeable battery with you so you don't miss anything. Maybe you'll luck out and that will be in the goody bag again.

2) The hotels in the immediate area are very high end, so I would say it is safe to leave valuable belongings in hotel rooms. I *think* you could request a safe if you are uncomfortable with leaving stuff in there... or maybe the room already has it. :O I'll be staying in the Paris so I am assuming it is a very good situation. I'm not too worried about my stuff being taken.

3) I don't know of any good affordable food options. I'm not from Vegas, but hopefully someone more familiar with the area could answer you. If I had to guess, you'll need to walk a bit to find anything that isn't super expensive. That area is basically all tourist territory. I was a lazy butt and didn't leave the Rio much in 2014, and the food was about the price you would expect for an expensive hotel's restaurants... But I did wander one night and find a nice little dumpling place for somewhat cheap. I guess it depends on how much you are willing to explore the area.

4) In 2014, it was hot, but not super humid, during the day. This is an important distinction for people from the North (like me) who are used to cold October days/nights. It felt more like summer. Night time was nice, but I'm the type of person that prefers it a bit on the warmer side. I remember sweating when I went outside in my costume. Yuck. As far as I remember, it didn't rain at all in 2014. They did a good job in 2014 about keeping it cool indoors, but it was also a different venue so I don't want to make any promises... I can only assume they would do a good job here, too.

5) There's a lot of stuff available to buy, but the line will be long and some stuff will sell out. I ended up not spending any money because I didn't think it was worth it to stand in that long, long line. If I remember correctly, there wasn't anything that was specifically limited to THAT event, but there was stuff that wouldn't be available online for quite a bit... so if you are the type of person that wants to get stuff *first*, you might be spending a lot of time/money in this area. The prices you can expect are basically the same as the online prices, so if you are unfamiliar with their pricing scale, you can take a look at the SE website.

6) I don't recall any sort of official policy, but I took a lot of pics and video at the last fan fest. The floor for the large panels was completely open, so you could snap photos or take video anywhere. Lots of cosplayers will be around if you want to take pictures of them -- just be careful not to clog any choke points.

[Valkrist]

I'm planning on going to this year's Fan Fest as well and I had some of the same questions as the OP. Some of them were answered.

We're all gamers who are going to the event and I'm more than likely going to be bringing my laptop along to Vegas. Are things like electronics and backpacks allowed inside? Or will there be stuff like metal detectors at the door telling me that my belt bucklet's too much metal to be allowed inside?

Bottles of water sound like they'd be allowed in, but how about snacks and possibly outside food as well?

The weather sounds like it'll be on the warmer side, so at least I know that I won't be in the fest nested together like a group of penguins trying to stay warm. But will it get to be too warm inside now?

[Ryuko]

I honestly don't remember the venue being super strict as far as security is concerned. I don't recall there being metal detectors or even bag checks, but I could be wrong. It has been two years. I remember bringing tiny snacks (like granola bars) with me just in case I was feeling a little faint, and I had no issue with that. There was also a tiny 'snack' stand outside of the hall -- for chips, sodas, and even some hot foods.

As far as electronics and other portable devices... I saw people bring in tablets and cellphones, as well as large DSLR cameras to the venue without issue. I am only assuming that a laptop would be allowed, but I don't know if you'd even want to have it with you. Even if they have wifi available, you'll be too busy with the events to be playing FFXIV on your laptop. :P

Again, all of my answers are based on my experience at the Rio. Things could be different at the Paris, but I don't see a reason why there would be huge changes. They're not making any money off of us bringing in food or anything -- that's all on the venue itself, and we all have to eat dinner at some point... so they're probably banking on that.

I personally doubt that it will be warm inside. These are Vegas venues, so they are equipped to keep the area cool. If the Rio was any indication, their air conditioning system will be equipped to handle the people and the heat generated by the hundreds of computers set up for us to use.

[Rongway]

Bit of background for context.
I stay at the Rio every year for Star Trek Las Vegas and at the Paris every other year for the National Strength and Conditioning Association's national conference.

1. Anything in particular I should carry onhand? Or NOT carry onhand?
2. Is it safe to leave valuable belongings in hotel rooms?
3. Know of any good and/or affordable food options near the venue?
4. How's the weather?
5. How much can I expect to spend on stuff sold at the event?
6. Can I film or take pictures?

1. If you want to purchase merch, come with cash. Plastic can slow the merch line a lot -- at last FanFest they were able to process between three and ten cash people in the time it took to process a single credit/debit customer. If you like peopling, and want to keep in touch with your new friends after the con, it helps to have some cheap contact cards printed with just the information you want to share (character name, server, prefered social media, etc). In the category of what not to carry, if you want to bring prop weapons, you should clear them with the hotel first -- they might not have a problem with foam or plastic props, but swords, daggers, and guns in particular will draw the attention of security if they're not expecting them.
2. I've never had a problem with things disappearing from my hotel room. If you have belongings with which you want to be extra careful, you can put them in the in-room safe. If you do, write yourself a conspicuous note reminding yourself that you put things in the safe and put that note in your suitcase where you won't be able to pack your things without seeing and handling the note. The safest thing of course would be to leave valuables at home, but for the things you must have with you, you don't want to forget them in your room when you leave.
3. The Strip has several buffets and non-buffets with delicious food, some more affordable than others. Keep in mind, however, that our host hotel, the Paris, is on the Strip and as Ryuko said, it is touristy and whether any of the restaurants in the area fall under the category of "affordable" is a subject of personal opinion. The most affordable option would be to bring your own food and put it in the fridge, but this option is only available for those who are driving or meeting up with friends who are driving. If you're not used to travel, take note of the minibar -- it's a stash of snacks and beverages in a cabinet next to the refrigerator. Avoid it, as it contains some of the most expensive sodas and bags of chips on the planet.
4. Vegas is still hot in October. If you plan to leave the hotel during the day, it'll be shorts weather. The hotel interior, however, some people will find cold. I'm personally fine in shorts and a t-shirt all day, but if you get cold easily, you'll want to take a sweater or light jacket just in case. The nights are cooler; apply the same advice I gave for the hotel interior.
5. It really depends on what they offer. If you want one of everything, it could be on the order of a couple hundred dollars or more. Keep in mind that for the high-demand items like stuffies that come with in-game minion codes, they can decide to impose a one-per-customer limit. Even then, they still might sell out.
6. In the hotel, avoid taking pictures anywhere that gambling happens. In the convention area, it'll be up to SE. Since they're selling stream tickets for the event, they might allow photography but disallow video recording. Take your camera, but respect any signs posted in the convention area. If you see people in cosplay, or even just plainclothed attendees, it's customary to ask before taking a pic.

1. We're all gamers who are going to the event and I'm more than likely going to be bringing my laptop along to Vegas. Are things like electronics and backpacks allowed inside? Or will there be stuff like metal detectors at the door telling me that my belt bucklet's too much metal to be allowed inside?
2. Bottles of water sound like they'd be allowed in, but how about snacks and possibly outside food as well?
3. The weather sounds like it'll be on the warmer side, so at least I know that I won't be in the fest nested together like a group of penguins trying to stay warm. But will it get to be too warm inside now?

1. Don't expect to walk through any arches that beep at you, but the level of security to enter the convention center varies between cons. They might just let us all walk in unchecked, or they could wand us and check bags. Either way, electronics won't be a problem; but leave any blades or sharp objects (e.g., pocket knives, vape building tools) in your room. Just remember, if security directs you to do something, don't argue with them--comply and if you feel slighted, have a private conversation with hotel reception.
2. Shouldn't be a problem, and as I said above, taking your own food is the cheapest and easiest way to eat.
3. (4) above

[Rongway]

Unrelated to previous post, something that I haven't seen anyone mention is how to prep for the in-game events. Based on last Fan Fest, I have this advice to offer.

When you first sit down at your station, you'll be given about three minutes to customize your settings from default. If you're used to playing with default settings, you're set. All you have to do is put the abilities in your bars in the right slots.

If you play with heavy modification, you will need to practice configuring the game to the minimal amount of customization you need to function usefully. In the game launcher, use the backup tool to save your settings. If necessary, take some screen shots of your important settings so you can get them exactly right during the next part of the exercise. Then reset everything to default, and go through all your settings and change them back to what you're used to. As you do, decide which settings you absolutely can't live without and which settings you can ignore. Then go out and do a FATE or something to make sure that all your buttons do what you want them to do, and your camera and movement settings are correct (especially Legacy(camera-based) vs Character-based movement). Then reset to default and do it again. Aim for being able to set all your settings within three minutes so that you can get everything working without eating into the trial/dungeon clock.

[Ryuko]

Unrelated to previous post, something that I haven't seen anyone mention is how to prep for the in-game events. Based on last Fan Fest, I have this advice to offer.

When you first sit down at your station, you'll be given about three minutes to customize your settings from default. If you're used to playing with default settings, you're set. All you have to do is put the abilities in your bars in the right slots.

Oh, THIS! Great advice! By the end of the fan fest, I was a pro at configuring my settings on the fly... but the first few times were really panic-inducing. If you 'practice' ahead of time, you should feel confident when you get there.

[Wolftamer]

Unrelated to previous post, something that I haven't seen anyone mention is how to prep for the in-game events. Based on last Fan Fest, I have this advice to offer.
.

Can I assume all stations are setup as right handed, non-gaming mice?

[NarikoStar]

Can I assume all stations are setup as right handed, non-gaming mice?

I'll answer based on 2014, all stations (so odin/frontlines/primal challang/dungeon speed run) were all PC with keyboard and mouse BUT have the option to play with gamepad controller, I want to say they were all right handed. I've asked a few times for events to provide Naga mice as for anyone who plays with a Naga should know it is completely different than playing full keyboard. This year's E3 all of the stations had corsair mice (similar to nagas with 12 buttons on the side--) with the catch that unfortunately they were NOT driver updated to work with the game.

I'm hoping that this year's fanfest we will at least be provided with a gaming mice that are programmed OR have the option to use our own if any challenges are higher stake (aka a more in-deapth feast pvp tournament.)

I was meaning to check what was used at gamescon as they recently had A TON of challenges- Anyone know off the top of their head? I'll ask around discord channels~

[Canoe]

Thanks for making this thread, I saw they had a photo booth last time, can you take your own pictures in there or do they make you wait for the ones they take?