Gone to GenCon

Hi, guys. Just thought I'd drop a note to tell you I'm off to GenCon and
won't check my e-mail until next Monday. So, if you're waiting for a
reply from me, you'll have a while to wait...:)

> Hi, guys. Just thought I'd drop a note to tell you I'm off to GenCon

> Allan

(shouting, so that he'll hear me in Milwaukee) TELL US POOR S**S WHO COULDNT
MAKE IT ALL ABOUT IT WHEN YOU GET BACK!!

(including the mailing list meet)

Wishing I was in Milwaukee (sigh)

Excerpts from FT: 7-Aug-96 Re: Gone to GenCon by

> PS Why are plane tickets across the pond so d*****d expensive?

Monopoly - can you spell that, ask Richard Branson.

        Tim

> At 10:35 AM 8/7/96 +0200, you wrote:

> (shouting, so that he'll hear me in Milwaukee) TELL US POOR S**S WHO

Well, got back about two hours ago after a 12 hour drive. GenCon wasn't bad,
but I thought last year was "better." There was certainly more of a buzz in
the dealers room last year and it looked busier (though the dealers room was a
bit smaller last year). There were many of the same dealers as last year.

I had a good time, though I only got one game of FT in. It was a good game,
but I felt that it was too long for a novice game (after 3.75 hours of which
0.5 of an hour was rules descriptions, the game was still at least an hour
from finishing). However, the game was fun and well run. The figures looked
great and a couple of new converts to the game went looking for the rules. I
watched a couple of other FMA games, and they looked good.

I saw Jon Tuffley, but never got a chance to say "hi" or thank him for his
work. Mind you, he seemed tired so I think people were keeping him busy. My
biggest disappointment was I didn't get to see many of the mailing list crowd.
I met Mike Miserendino (hi, Mike!) but I couldn't make it to the mailing list
meeting. My friend Chris Smith, in the AOI game, met Mark Siefert. I think
next time (i.e. next GenCon) we should see if we can find a table somewhere
and play a game of FT or SG2!

> PS Why are plane tickets across the pond so d*****d expensive?

I'm not sure what it costs in Britain to come over here, but it actually costs
about as much to fly to Alberta or British Columbia form Ontario as it does to
fly from Toronto to Britain (the distances are similar, though).

> the dealers room last year and it looked busier (though the dealers

The exhibitor room was larger than last year. The miniatures games were
upstairs this year. Also, the reason most of them are the same is that most of
them are manufacturers, not dealers.

> At 03:42 PM 8/12/96 EDT, you wrote:

> upstairs this year.

Yup. That's what I noticed. I liked the bigger dealer's room.

> Also, the reason most of them are the same is that most of

That's not actually what I meant. I realize that the manufacturers are the
same, but most of the DEALERS were also the same, bringing the same old stuff.
When I did notice something interesting, they weren't too bright about what
they brought. One place was selling 10mm Irregular Miniatures army packs. He
had a 10mm samurai army, something I'd been trying to find for a while.
However, he only had ONE pack. One samurai army is pretty useless. I asked if
he had any more and he said that was all he had with him. It's obvious that he
just grabbed a few things that weren't selling and stuffed them in a box for
GenCon. I'd have bought two if he had them, but one army was a little bit
useless so I didn't buy any.

Also, as mentioned, there weren't as many deals this year as last.

> On Wed, 14 Aug 1996, Allan Goodall wrote:

There were a few, but they were pretty hard to find. The deals which I took
advantage of were:

1) Chessex was selling the Leading Edge Games figures for "Aliens", "Dracula"
and "Terminator 2" at less than half price, so I picked up the two Aliens
Colonial Marines sets for $12.00 each, and the Alien Queen and the Armored
Personnel Carrier for $15.00 each.

2) Chessex Distribution was selling off a bunch of 25mm figure packs, 15 packs
for $5.00. I found 5 packs of their old "Cybertech Marines"
and filled out the other 10 packs with alien-looking monsters.  They
were also selling Grenadier 25mm figure packs for $2.00 each.

3) I bought three boxed sets of figures at the auction for $5.00 to $10.00
each.

4) Jon Tuffley was selling pre-production copies of those 4 "bunny
girls with antennae and guns" from some Japanese animated series (anyone know
which one?) This wasn't a deal as far as prices go ($10.00 for the 4 figures)
but it's the first time I've ever had
a pre-production figure of anything!

I didn't like the Starblazers figures because they were awfully
expensive for their size -- $6.95 for a 3-to-4-inch long skinny
spaceship seems like too much to me. The Traveller patrol cruisers (about the
same size) are a much better deal.

Unfortunately, I missed seeing ANYONE from the mailing list!

> At 11:53 AM 8/14/96 -0400, Rick Rutherford wrote:

Ah, the real deal here were the Leading Edge Living Steel figures. They were
selling sets for $5. I'm planning on using them with SG2.

> 2) Chessex Distribution was selling off a bunch of 25mm figure packs,

Those packs were by Metal Magic, a German company. I bought 15 sets of a
mixture of gangsters, female investigators, and police for Call of Cthulhu.
These sets were a better buy than you might think. When I first priced them,
the distributor stopped carrying them because they would have to sell for
about US$3 each! I guess Chessex got stuck with them when all the stores
stopped carrying them. They aren't as nice a figure as the RAFM Call of
Cthulhu figures (the Metal Magic Deep Ones were particularly pitiful). But I
was able to fill in some gaps in my gangster collection.

> I didn't like the Starblazers figures because they were awfully

Yeah, they seemed a bit pricey to me. I thought they were a good buy if they
came PAINTED, though.

> Unfortunately, I missed seeing ANYONE from the mailing list!

Maybe next year we'll be more organized.

> Allan Goodall wrote:

[Munch]

> >Unfortunately, I missed seeing ANYONE from the mailing list!

Well, we could always organize a FTGZG-L trip to GenCon for next year.
(8-)
(Yeah, right, I think my SO would clobber me.)  (8-)

J.

> >Unfortunately, I missed seeing ANYONE from the mailing list!
(8-)
> (Yeah, right, I think my SO would clobber me.) (8-)

Doesn't anyone go to Origins?!? Not that I've been to either, but I was toying
with going to Origins next year...

...and running some FT games...  :-}

Mk

> At 10:26 PM 8/14/96 -0500, you wrote:

Origins got some mixed reviews this year. It appeared to be heavily into
Magic: The Gathering, which touched off a Holy War on
rec.games.trading-cards.misc and rec.games.frp.misc.

Although I'd like to go to Origins, I can only go to one of the "biggies" each
year and GenCon is it. I've got friends that prefer GenCon for the roleplaying
(and I happen to be a big Call of Cthulhu fan), but more importantly, my wife
prefers the roleplaying at GenCon.

If I was to go to any other con, my preference would be Historicon for its
emphasis on miniatures.

I knew it! I'm going home in a bag! It's always the Corporal that
> gets blown up first. wrote:

Somebody told me that Origins wasn't worth going to any more; I can't
remember who/what it was.  Actually, I think it was Dean Essig, series
creator/game designer from "The Gamers."  In any case, there have been
problems with organization, falling enrollment, lack of
manufactuers/dealers
taking the time to go, etc.

I don't know; it could be all wrong. All I know is that I'll have the money,
the time, and the permission (8-) to go to one BIG convention, and
that'll be GenCon. Just as soon as I can pay for my tuition, rent, food,
loans, etc.
etc. etc.  (8-/

J.

> Subject: Re: Gone to GenCon

I've only been to the one in Fort Worth 2 or 3 years ago, and it was
_dismal_. Attendance was an all time low, GAMA was suing the organizers,
etc. Quite the disaster.

On the upside, the fans to VIPs ratio was very good. I got to hang out all
night in a bar with Greg Stafford, and only one other, rather than the mob
scene I've seen at other Cons.

> Somebody told me that Origins wasn't worth going to any more; I can't

> creator/game designer from "The Gamers." In any case, there have been

> problems with organization, falling enrollment, lack of
Well, from my own personal p.o.v. It was at Origins '95 that I got hooked on
Dirtside II, and from there FT. So it will always have a place in my heart.

RK

> On Wed, 14 Aug 1996, Rick Rutherford wrote:

> On Wed, 14 Aug 1996, Allan Goodall wrote:

Lines clipped for space.
> 4) Jon Tuffley was selling pre-production copies of those 4 "bunny

I hope Geo-Hex will make them available to us in US.

> I didn't like the Starblazers figures because they were awfully
Could you give further details about these Starblazers figures? Who was
selling them? Were they lead figures or plastic models? Thanks.

> Unfortunately, I missed seeing ANYONE from the mailing list!

In a message dated 96-08-15 14:02:51 EDT, rkorde@dolphin.upenn.edu
(Rukesh
> Korde) writes:

> Well, from my own personal p.o.v. It was at Origins '95 that I got

Hey! I was running the DS2 games at Origins last year! Which game did you
play?  Pity I couldn't get more than 3-4 players for each game.
Although both Battletech games I ran were chock full (16 per game with others
hoping for an empty slot).

Come to think of it, there were lots of full Battletech and 40K games at
Gencon. A good way to bring those players to the dark side would be to run a
'Battletech Mechs in DS2' demo game or similar SG@ game. I would like someone
to run a Star Trek or Star Wars Full Thrust game at one of the cons. There was
a Star Wars in Silent Death game at Gencon that had three sessions filled up
in preregistration. Crossover fans would be a welcome addition the
the FT/DS2/SG2 players ranks.

Regards, Steve Gibson

> Hey! I was running the DS2 games at Origins last year! Which game
Although
> both Battletech games I ran were chock full (16 per game with others
Yes, I remember; I was in the game w/the featured the Zepplin of Death.

I recall that there were a lot of units on the board and that it didn't get
much past the second or third turn. One of DSII's strenghts is its
ability to capture the fluidity of an armored/mechanized enagement.  For

GenCon next year, you might try a game w/fewer units.  Playing in a game

that goes down to the wire can be a great thrill. (Not that any DSII
isn't!).

> Come to think of it, there were lots of full Battletech and 40K games

I think a DSII w/a few Mecha units, or maybe an all Mecha game would do
wonders for attracting folks to DSII. (I haven't played battletech in a

while, but I seem to recall that once you get past maybe 8-10 mechs a
side, it gets kind of cumbersome: DSII would let you fight out larger
engagements...)

> At 04:39 PM 8/17/96 -0400, you wrote:

> Come to think of it, there were lots of full Battletech and 40K games

This is a VERY good idea. People are more likely to plop down $20 for a
rulebook if they know that all of their figures will work with it. Someone
should run a DS2 game with Battletech or GW Epic (I've done that myself), a FT
game with Star Trek ships, and a SG2 game with WH40K (or, perhaps, WH40K
versus Warzone). I think this would be a great way of drawing in new players.

In message <199608180241.WAA04530@smtp1.sympatico.ca>, Allan Goodall writes:
> At 04:39 PM 8/17/96 -0400, you wrote:
Someone

My philosophy exactly. I'm running 3 sessions of SG2 at an upcoming con to
demonstrate that fact. I'm using mostly GW and Warzone figures, with some
Kryomek, Future Warriors, Star Wars and even Steve Jackson's Space Knights
thrown in.