My biggest disappointment in the event was that the attendees did not receive digital goodies. Like previous attendees did.
My biggest disappointment in the event was that the attendees did not receive digital goodies. Like previous attendees did.
The biggest problem this company has is communication.It affects all aspects of the game, support and fan festivals. It's just f'ng awful for a companay this large making so much money to ignore its customer base. Has to be a cultural thing.
It's definitely a risk. Perhaps attending two PAX West events lured me into a false sense of security, but I didn't want to miss the chance to see my FC at the first in-person fanfest since 2018. I tried to be as cautious as possible at the event with high-quality masking and avoiding people with obvious symptoms (except when I was stuck on a plane.) I also bought travel insurance to cover medical as well as hotel expenses in case I had to isolate in Las Vegas. Fortunately nobody from our FC seems to have gotten covid from fanfest yet, but it's kind of a crap shoot.
Last edited by Avenger; 08-04-2023 at 05:41 AM.
There are some troll threads on the forums, but I would definitely like to see more dev/mod posts and more official responses to legit threads. Fanfest communication was confusingly split across lodestone/login screen notices, web site(s), twitter, and email, so it was hard to follow.
I avoided most of the pain you mentioned by just realizing it was 15k people in one area and being smart about things.
1. Got there a few hours early first day. We’re were there over an hour before the Starbucks opened on the side, started that line (got in and out for breakfast as the first customers) then got in line along with others over an hour early, so we got in before the big line outside. That said, second day they did the right thing by having the line wrap around the inside instead. But that was entirely the venue’s poor planning on day one.
2. Merch? I don’t even see why the option is there anymore outside of additional chaos. Order it online. There’s no sense in ordering it there if the option to preorder is there on the website, and it has been for years now.
3. I didn’t bother trying to get a seat for the first part, though. I’ve watched enough Fanfests and been in the community since the start to know that it trails off after the announcement.
Instead, I wandered the setup, read the placards, took pictures that were people-free and then got in line for the games that I wanted to do that I knew would be hard to get into later. While nobody else was in line. While the Microsoft Bro was standing there awkwardly on stage, I was playing the games with nearly no lines to speak of.
I got my stuff and left to meet friends, check out cosplays, get lunch and chill.
4. We also snuck out of a lot of events (concert, etc) about 5 to 10 minutes early, out the back way and avoided those crushing crowds by, again, just being smart about things. We didn’t attend the pvp event and instead went to the buffet in the Westgate. No wait to get in. Once we left, however, there was a massive line forming.
5. The last time they gave out shirts for beating a battle event was Odin in 2014. I’m not sure why you were expecting it. The others were given out at PAX, etc.
Now, I will admit that you’re right about one thing. I got a golden ticket and so the highlight of my time was meeting Koji and Ishikawa. It sucks that those opportunities are locked behind RNG, on top of the RNG of getting a ticket in the first place.
As far as illness, Covid is sadly endemic and part of general con crud. It’s a gamble you take at any large gathering. Mask up, wash hands, get rest — and even then you might still get it, like I did!
Sorry you didn’t have a good time, but no event with that many people is run flawlessly and sometimes a little quick thinking and planning on your end will save you massive headaches.
Esuna works on Covid right?
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