My last GenCon was 87. At that time, I stayed at the Hyatt Regency. I remember
thinking 1) overpriced. 2) overpriced. and 3) the food sucked and was
overpriced. The Con itself had a variety of events from the
sublime (BT Fasa vs. Distributors - with actual mini destruction!, and a
great RPGA event I played) to the ridiculous (a bring your own PC AD&D
event... cringe). I got lots of good loot, though I still have a bone to pick
with an artist who accepted money then never delivered. I saw an
entire gym floor used for a micro-armour Fall of West Germany scenario -
possibly the biggest game I've ever seen.
But the Hyatt was pricey, and the food there and at the Convention Centre was
lame. The neighborhood was... unremarkably urban. Finding a nearby Wendy's
turned the event into a tolerable one foodwise. But I don't think Milwaukee
per se contributed anything to the experience.
Now that was, I admit, years ago. i'm sure the facilities have changed. Minis
have got shafted I understand:( And now i'd probably go to a few
different places - a brewery tour sounds like fun, as does a
before-the-con party with listers.
The one thing I can say, by moving it to Indianna, they move it from a
driveable option to a plane ticket for most of us Canadians - least for
me from Ottawa. It was already a trip to Milwaukee. And my last few
flights to the States have been no joy - even flying to other continents
was preferable to that experience. And making it a plane trip cuts down the
amount of gaming junk you can portage. (Thus why I'm driving to Lancaster in
something big). So I don't know about any of the other Canucks, but this
change is likely to Gaurantee I don't make another trip to Gencon after 2003.
I'll probably make an attempt to get to one more just for the opportunity to
meet a few more list members before they move it, but after its moved, I
probably won't make it again. No doubt WOTC isn't too worried about the extra
distance for some of us Canucks, but I suspect it will lose a few visitors on
that account.
If I have to choose 1 con to attend a year that requires a pilgrimage, I hate
to say it but GZG ECC wins hands down (till we can get a Cold Thrust or
something up here!). In Lancaster, I get to meet folk of like mind, and engage
in playing games I like with people who have little in
common with some of the more capital-L lame members of our gaming
community - the munckins and the don't-get-out-enough crowd. The GZG
gamers tend to be a tad more mature, and that makes for more entertaining
scenarios and better social experiences at the Con making the trip worthwhile.
And besides, I still have to *thank* Jon Davis for the vibroknife in the ribs
that his corporate thugs applied to my Colonial Marines at GZG ECC #1. I
haven't forgotten you Jon... you're on the list....:)
Just my 0.02.
> Thomas Barclay of the Clan Barclay wrote:
Thanks for the kind words, Tom. You realize that game was my first experience
for Star Grunt. We could not have had a better game or Gamemaster.
I was intently looking forward to the Star Grunt scenario prepared
by Tom called (oddly enough) "Payback" for GZG-ECC II. Seems that
the Colonial Marines were to go on a little expedition of their own to some
Company offices.
> The one thing I can say, by moving it to Indianna, they move it from a
How is this? Indianapolis is closer to Ottawa than Milwaukee. Using
Mapquest.com it even showed an hour less of estimated travel time (14 hours
compared to 15).
I was at mapquest checking out how long it would take to get to Lancaster,
PA and GZG-ECC from Fargo, ND...a bit over 24 hours.
In a message dated 11/24/99 5:52:28 PM Central Standard Time,
> dean.gundberg@noridian.com writes:
<< > The one thing I can say, by moving it to Indianna, they move it from a
> driveable option to a plane ticket for most of us Canadians - least
How is this? Indianapolis is closer to Ottawa than Milwaukee. Using
Mapquest.com it even showed an hour less of estimated travel time (14 hours
compared to 15).
I was at mapquest checking out how long it would take to get to Lancaster,
PA and GZG-ECC from Fargo, ND...a bit over 24 hours.
> [quoted text omitted]
Well, using the same web site, i figured how long and how far it was to get to
either destination. For Indianapolis it was 1417.2 miles, est. time of 27 hrs,
3 min. For Milwaukee it was 1576.2 mi, est time29 hrs, 57 min. (SIGH) Having
already priced airline tickets to the midwest, that isn't an option either.
Unless I either get rich quick, win the lotto, or some other
improbability, like Gen-Con "floating" from city to city, I'm not going
to get there in the near future.
John
> I was at mapquest checking out how long it would take to get to
Ouch! I guess I never looked too closely at exactly where ND was in relation
to PA, but now that I think about it, Lancaster is pretty much south of Ottawa
and Milwaukee is mostly west, and ND is further west. Yeah, I'll buy that it's
a 24 hr. drive. I guess we won't see Dean at ECC until the year he's got plane
fare burning a hole in his pocket.
I know at least one friend who'll be sorely disappointed by a change of venue
for GenCon. This fellow's been going regularly for decades and has quite the
full itinerary. Water St Brewhouse Wednesday dinner, Maaders and their beer
club Sunday evening, and at least one meal in between is at the brew place
just over the bridge. Oh, well.
On Wed, 24 Nov 1999 17:50:08 -0600, "Dean Gundberg"
> <dean.gundberg@noridian.com> wrote:
> How is this? Indianapolis is closer to Ottawa than Milwaukee. Using
Hi, Dean.
I used Automap Streets Plus to do some different routes from Toronto to
Indianapolis, versus the routes to Milwaukee. The difference is more than an
hour. It's closer to 3. Milwaukee is 1100 km from Toronto (approximately 660
miles) via the toll road around Chicago. Should be "doable" in 11 hours, but
it always takes us closer to 12 due to construction around Chicago.
According to the mapping program, Indy is something like 518 miles. Even
rounding off to 520 or 530, we get closer to 9 hours driving time. And one of
the routes is all Interstate with Indianapolis being the one major city we
come across.
So, from a Toronto perspective, GenCon is considerably closer (25% closer) in
Indianapolis.