LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

1st-3rd November 2013
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Kanonfodda
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LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by Kanonfodda »

I would imagine most of you have seen my feedback from LlamaLAN 20 on Facebook, if not it is reproduced below for you.

Apart from that, I would like all other feedback from you the attendees on what we can do better. Some of it we already have:
  • Keep the site available online for those who can't attend so they can keep upto date with the event
  • More tournament preperation. All tournament rules should be published BEFORE the event takes place, so that no issues arise during the event. This will also help to organise the server configs
  • No rendering at the event, the load on the servers affects the internet connection and game server performance
  • ensure sufficient alcohol is available for KF so he doesn't have to go out late at night to find some ;)
  • Various cosmetic updates to the site to allow for easier match entry etc
Keep the feedback constructive please, gives us a better chance of sorting them out :D
This is probably going to be a long post, so be warned…

I have been running LlamaLAN for over 10 years now, in that time I have made new friends, met new people and lost at more games than I care to admit. At this stage of the event process I am putting things back together in what has become lovingly known as “The Command Bunker”, but I am taking a break from carrying boxes and detritus up and down stairs to take a moment to reflect. Something I don’t do often enough.

The third LlamaLAN brought us to our current venue, 18 LANs later and we are still there, still going strong. After 10 years a building that we have come to know as home is linked to many emotions: Happiness, sorrow, shame, pride, fear, and excitement, love and even in rare cases hate. We have seen relationships begin and flourish and sometimes unfortunately we have seen relationships fail. All of this is normal life, but as a community we share so much now that those who partake in the community are linked by a bond of friendship and loyalty. I am proud to call such a group friends.

Each person that comes to LlamaLAN brings something special to the event, it just wouldn’t be the same without all of the people that make LlamaLAN what it is. Every event CyberDrac makes a point of saying thank you to me for doing what I do and it humbles me to know that something that I helped create, that I and the other admins nurture has brought so many people together. So I say thank you to you, each and every LAN attendee that brings an attitude they should be proud of. We are LlamaLAN, we will accept anyone as they are. The only rule is that you do the same for us. So far we have not been left wanting in that regard.

I can honestly say that I have always enjoyed every LlamaLAN, but equally there has always been a certain amount of relief at the end of the event, a relief that the problems are over for another 6 months, that I don’t have to worry about changing the design of the site so it is easier to understand. This event was different for me, this event brought me to a new place. I believe I have a certain reputation for grumpiness at the LANs, deservedly so in my opinion. But this LAN, this LAN for me was a turning point. I have gone through various stages in my life, suffice to say that my personal life is at a stage where I feel I am back in control. I feel this LAN I was able to relax and let the real me out to play, due in no small part to the feeling of belonging engendered by LlamaLAN attendees. No one is left alone, no one is pushed to the sides or excluded. The only times that happens is when the person being excluded works hard to keep people at bay. Something I feel I have been doing for far too long.

To those of you I have pushed away, I can only apologise and hope that I can work harder in future to not be such a prick. To those who pushed hard enough to get in anyway, thank you for helping me be me and reminding me that it ok to be silly, to have fun and to make a fool of yourself. I have always made friends at LlamaLAN, but none more so than this event. I look forward to future events with an invigoration I have not felt since I was a teenager and a sense of sorrow at the passing of LlamaLAN 20 normally associated with the passing of a loved one.

So to finalise my ramblings, I want to say thank you to CyberDrac for doing all the jobs I find myself too scared to do (like talking to people) and his unwavering ability to come up with ideas that help us to move the LAN forward. Thank you to Kryton for helping me to load and unload all the equipment from “The Command Bunker” and get it to the hall and back again. And of course for all his tireless work making sure the cabling is run to his exacting standards. Thank you to Golem for his outstanding graphics on the site and various LAN related images and of course for the amazing work on the LlamaLAN videos. Thank you to YaZoR for helping me with technical problems when I get stuck with some random crazy idea and for not taking the piss out of me too much when I screw up. Thank you to Zodiack for helping golem with the LAN graphics and now taking over control of the Console area. Thank you to Rogue for making this event so special for me, in a place where new friendships are common I feel that I have made a new friend who I have known for a long time.

Tldr;

Thanks guys, you rock. Site will be back soon
If it bleeds, we can fry it :0D
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Twysta
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Re: LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by Twysta »

As fine a job as you admins do - those are some big shoes to fill and by no means has the work you put into the fine fine running of the LANs gone unnoticed but here are my thoughts -


With the LAN being sold out so soon game should be announced earlier - all games which had monetary value were on sale during the steam summer sale and people could have saved themselves a few pennies.

I remember speaking with Reggie and he said he would have liked if Yazor's server list was a bit more publicly displayed so that he knew he could have utilized some of the servers that were available.
Could you guys possibly put on a scrolling marquee on the projector scoreboard or something stating servers that are available? Or put in the main noticeboard section?

Possible streaming of 1v1 games (at least from the semifinal or something) as the 1v1's can sometimes feel a bit detached from being part of the "big teams", and the streaming of the final at LLXIX seemed to go down really well - we can even put some commentators on TS (so if people put on their headsets they can hear both gamesounds and commentry... just like in the big leagues).
The console room isn't really used at all so could you possibly put up a constant stream in one of the sections? - Not sure how viable it would be to have a spec/bot stay on one of the servers to produce the stream in this manner.

Due to the rapid growth and reputation of the LAN, would opening on Thursday night be an option?
Get everyone settled in, have a few nibbles out. More of a social event to get people acquianted as technically it is still set up period (I'm sure people would be happy to help) and it means a lot of people will be set and ready for Friday's gaming action nice and early. Also helps work out the kinks through various gameservers once things are up and running.

+1 to tournament prep.
-Please, please, please can we not have a CP 1v 1 ever again? :roll:

Also I thought the lights were left on far too much this LAN. But that's only a personal minor gripe. =]
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Re: LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by Kanonfodda »

Twysta wrote:With the LAN being sold out so soon game should be announced earlier - all games which had monetary value were on sale during the steam summer sale and people could have saved themselves a few pennies.
We are planing to get the games list out much sooner this time. :)
Twysta wrote:I remember speaking with Reggie and he said he would have liked if Yazor's server list was a bit more publicly displayed so that he knew he could have utilized some of the servers that were available.
Could you guys possibly put on a scrolling marquee on the projector scoreboard or something stating servers that are available? Or put in the main noticeboard section?
Something along these lines perhaps? http://www.llamalan.co.uk/hub
Twysta wrote:Possible streaming of 1v1 games (at least from the semifinal or something) as the 1v1's can sometimes feel a bit detached from being part of the "big teams", and the streaming of the final at LLXIX seemed to go down really well - we can even put some commentators on TS (so if people put on their headsets they can hear both gamesounds and commentry... just like in the big leagues).
A good idea, I'll have to look into setting up streams for use at the LANs
Twysta wrote:The console room isn't really used at all so could you possibly put up a constant stream in one of the sections? - Not sure how viable it would be to have a spec/bot stay on one of the servers to produce the stream in this manner.
again, an interesting idea. As we have two scoreboards up, maybe co-opt one or the other so the matches are streamed in there. Again, will need to look into streaming tech for that :)
Twysta wrote:Due to the rapid growth and reputation of the LAN, would opening on Thursday night be an option?
Get everyone settled in, have a few nibbles out. More of a social event to get people acquianted as technically it is still set up period (I'm sure people would be happy to help) and it means a lot of people will be set and ready for Friday's gaming action nice and early. Also helps work out the kinks through various gameservers once things are up and running.
Early Arrival Service (EAS) is something that Multiplay offer. Because of the hall usage on Thursday nights we can't open before about 10:30 at the earliest, it's certainly something we can discuss with the community though.
+1 to tournament prep.
-Please, please, please can we not have a CP 1v 1 ever again? :roll:
Duly noted and agreed, this was down to a lack of tournament prep and should not happen again :)
Also I thought the lights were left on far too much this LAN. But that's only a personal minor gripe. =]
I noticed this, I was quite surprised at that :)
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Re: LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by Andy »

Feedback: huehue!

Since its introduction I think the internet is a very useful tool for LAN, but that doesn't mean to get away from the core values of LAN gaming, the big games.
Leading from that, I felt the ET big game was poorly done. I haven't played that game for more than 10 years, and after installing it, I hopped onto the server to try to reaquaint myself with the game and the maps, only to be constantly killed by team-mates or the opposition. Queue incredible frustration.
I subsiquently left the game and decided not to play in it, let my team-mates down. But frankly I had absolutely no desire to play in it at all.

1 v 1 games are never my idea of fun so i've not really got any feedback about these - although, perhaps some of us can help with the rulesets, I myself have a fair amount of experience with Altitude and could have helped more than I did!

TEH LARN:
I love LAN - I like the hall, the venue, the kitchen!
I never actually knew the "console area" existed before the announced Tomb Raider time trial.

The gents - in future I think it's absolutely vital that we have more than one towel to dry our hands with!
If needed, I will bring like, 5 more!
VITAL!

PS, the lights staying on is a good thing. Stops the headaches ;)
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Re: LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by Twysta »

I thought the ET tourney was fine.
If you keep getting killed by your own teammates and other people that's nothing to do with how the tourney is run.

Most of us hadn't even played the game before and we seemed to do alright.
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Re: LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by sludgee »

Would just like to say

This is how you make myself as an individual feel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A
followed by
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DNQRtmIMxk

Thank you so much ;)

love sludgee
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Re: LlamaLAN 20 Feedback

Post by Pru »

Hai!

So i thought the LAN overall was awesome. I hope next time i'll get to play more games, not having your own pc at a lan is really annoying :P

The console area was bloody cold! And the sleeping area on the stage was fairly empty. Is there any chance of swapping these round? It's a bit easier to get warm in bed that it is playing a game. I felt that when it used to be on the stage it was more used and generally a nicer space to be in.

Werewolves, fluxx and cards against humanity was awesome, was great to see tim having time to come play too, but more alcohol is needed next time!

Although there were tournies, i felt this lan was missing the "big games". It would have been nice to have a game, that everyone can join in, properly organised (serious sam? :D ).

Also seeing Carrie a bit tipsy/drunk was hilarious :P
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