LlamaLAN 8 - Information Thread

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CyberDrac
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LlamaLAN 8 - Information Thread

Post by CyberDrac »

Welcome to the LlamaLAN 8 information thread.

We hope to post all relevant information to the LlamaLAN 8 event here, please visit this thread regularly to check for updates, if there is any information you feel should be added here let us know by e-mail, forum PM, an IRC PM, a message in #llamalan, or through an IM like MSNM and we will endeavour to make the appropriate amendments.

This information may duplicate what is said on the website but we'll try and keep everything together here in one place.

When:

The event will run from Friday the 17th of August 2007 with doors opening at 10 o'clock in the morning through until Sunday the 19th of August 2007 at 6 o'clock in the afternoon, by my calculations this will make it a 56 hour event from doors open to the power going off.

Where:

The event is to be held in the hall of the 41st Medway Scout troop headquarters the address is :

The Scout Hut
Mafeking Road
Walderslade
Chatham
Kent
ME5 9HG

Grid Ref:TQ757631

Lat: 51:20:25N (51.3403)
Lon: 0:31:21E (0.5225)

and the obligatory Multimap link http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi? ... 000&icon=x
if you switch to 'aerial photo mode' you will see the building to the east of the nothern end of Mafeking road with the grey roof.

Cost:

For the event to run we need to cover the hall hire cost a month before the event, if we don't have sufficient funds by that date then the event is in jeopardy and may not happen, to date this has never happened, but we cannot emphasise enough that this cut off date is not flexible and that we cannot afford to subsidise this event from the organisers' own pockets. Remember that LlamaLAN is a non-profit making organisation, and money we make goes directly to the costs of running the LAN, any surplus goes on prizes, and improving the LAN for future events.

For this event the cut off date is Sunday the 8th of July at 12 o'clock midday

The costs of this LAN include a supplement to go towards some extras on the Saturday night, if all goes according to plan the Saturday evening should be an evening of Pizza and Kanonfodda's legendary Punch.

The cost of the event will be £17.50 per participant if booked and paid before the cutoff date, between the cutoff date and the LAN starting the cost will be £20.00 . Anyone wishing to pay on the door will pay £25 per participant. Visitors are welcome to observe the proceedings and socialise during daylight hours but anyone wishing to stay overnight will be classified as a spectator. Spectators will be subject to a £7.50 charge, this will entitle them to participate in the games played on the big screen such as 'ProjectorGames', Stepmania, and any fun tournaments we deem appropriate, but not to use a particpant's computer or compete in any of the other tournaments, anyone doing so will be asked to pay the difference to become an on the door particpant.

What to bring:

I know this is covered in another thread but I thought that I should bring them all together here.
  • Your computer (if it isn't yours then ask the owner's permission before borrowing it)
    Monitor
    Power cables for the above (obvious but I've forgotten them in the past)
    Keyboard
    Mouse
    Joystick or other gaming controller (if you have one or need one)
    An installed and working network card with an RJ45 type connector (I have a few available if you don't have one)
    Patch Lead (we have plenty but bring one if you want to, you never know, we might run out)
    Headphones (No speakers are permitted, the noise generated is too much to bear)
    Mains adaptor (4-way minimum) - enough for your PC, monitor, joystick & mobile charger
    Game CD's (you never know when you need to re-install)
    System CD's (in case something dreadful happens and you need to reformat/reinstall)
    Appropriate clothing to last the duration of the event: bring stuff for any weather - we never know what the building environmental controls will be set to!
    Deodorant
    Shower gel and/or soap (to wash with of course, but there are no showers at the venue)
    Razor (if applicable)
    Shaving foam (if applicable)
    Towels
    Toothbrush and toothpaste
    Bedding: Inflatable mattress or roll mat along with a sleeping bag and a pillow. Double sized beds may be deflated by angry people trying to find some space to sleep!
    Munchies: an absolute must
What Games should I bring?

Although everyone will have a different mixture of their games and everyone prefers one game over another, as part of your profile you can dictate what your favourite games are, we are in the process of updating the list of available games if you find that one of your favourites are not on the list then please let us know, the order is important and these count as your vote towards what games will prevail at the LAN. If you don't update the list then your choice may not be selected, we find this is the fairest way of selecting which games get played, the rankings as they stand are http://www.llamalan.co.uk/?Section=list ... EventID=12. Here is what I consider 'essential' for this particular event.
  • Far Cry
    ... this will be updated as soon as the votes are in
We will attempt to keep the FTP up to date with the latest patches and versions of the mods however I suggest that everyone review updates to their favourite programs and install them prior to arriving.

Please read up on Steam games being played in offline mode, there is NO Internet connection at the venue, please make sure that all your games will play whilst you are disconnected from the Internet BEFORE you get to the event

Rules

I feel that setting a few guidelines should help prevent missunderstandings as to what is acceptable behaviour at a LlamaLAN event, some of these rules originate from the venue we use others are purely and simply common sense and courtesy. So here they are ...
  • No smoking in the venue, there is a covered porch at the front door with an ashtray
    No Warez over the LlamaLAN network infrastructure, with this in mind we ask that you disable File and Printer sharing for the duration of the event, in the future we hope to gain support and sponsorship from game publishers and so it is appropriate that we discourage the distribution of illegal material.
    Please show consideration for the age and sensibilities of others when viewing material on your PC.
    Show consideration for others who may be trying to sleep, the sleeping area is for sleeping so please keep noise to a minimum in that area.
    Damage to the venue, the venues property, or the personal property of other attendees is not acceptable and will not be tolerated, we feel it appropriate and sensible that any damage will be paid for by the person who caused it.
    For those of an appropriate age the consumption of alcohol is permitted, please do so with due consideration for those around you, accidents happen whilst under the influence of alcohol and so be extra careful, the rules about breakages still apply if you're drunk.
Refunds
Refunds can be offered on an event, if the number of attendees paid is greater than the amount required to run the event. If this is not the case, then a refund cannot be issued. If a refund is possible it will, unfortunately, be minus any costs incurred for management of the money (paypal for example). Refunds will be evaluated on a case by case basis.
Most importantly have fun, the rules are there to protect you and your property and prevent unwanted and avoidable accidents

Gamers' Agreement
Running a small LAN party requires a lot of give and take by both the organisers and the participants. So to help the situation along we have devised a "gamers' agreement" which we hope will help things to run smoothly. It sets out what we will do as organisers to make the event work, and what we need from you to help it to happen. Based on the feedback from the previous events we have drawn up the following, hopefully is will address some of the issues raised and demonstrate that we learn from our mistakes and from your feedback.

Before the event ?

We will ask through a voting system what games you want to play, we will refine that choice to a small number which we will concentrate of for the time that the LAN party is running. Help us by voting for your games, by accepting that not all the games you chose will be played, and please participate in the chosen selection as much as possible.

We will publish a timetable showing when the games will be played

During the event ?

We will run 'big games' of the selected games, we will endeavour to run them to the advertised timetable, we will announce them in good time. Help us by joining in when the games are announced.

To encourage an atmosphere of competition each participant will be assigned to either the red team or the blue team and we will play for the honour of our teams. Help us by accepting which team you are placed, and that you may not necessarily be playing with your friends. Please join the correct side in the servers and play for the whole team. These are just for the big fun games, not for the tournament.

We will endeavour to provide you with the fastest network at our disposal. Help us by not clogging it up during the heavy gaming times, during big games and tournaments, there will be plenty of free-for-all time where network performance is not as much of an issue.
We will actively encourage and advertise the games

After the event ?

We want to keep improving the events. Help us by giving us positive feedback, what worked, what didn't, and most importantly what can we do to improve the situation.

By signing up to this event you are agreeing to the terms outlined above, if you feel that you cannot abide by this agreement then possibly LlamaLAN is not the event for you. This agreement exists to make the event the best it can be. If you have any feedback on this agreement please speak to us in the forums or in the IRC channel.

Regards

CyberDrac
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Post by Golem »

Thanks for taking the time on this. You should mention the proximity of the very nearby co-op - another cool advantage of the venue! I've jotted up a map to have available at the venue for people looking to get there, by foot or by car.

I just have to ask - how powerful is the force feedback on your joystick, Cyberdrac? :p
Cyberdrac wrote:"Mains adaptor (4-way minimum) - enough for your PC, monitor, joystick & mobile charger"
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Post by CyberDrac »

Golem wrote:I just have to ask - how powerful is the force feedback on your joystick, Cyberdrac? :p
Cyberdrac wrote:"Mains adaptor (4-way minimum) - enough for your PC, monitor, joystick & mobile charger"
I used to have an original Microsoft forcefeedback Joystick, you remember the ones that could wrench your arm out of it's socket, which used it's separate mains adapter. :D

CD
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Post by Golem »

Putting the 'OY!' into joystick! :)
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Post by Kanonfodda »

Golem wrote:Putting the 'OY!' into joystick! :)
so many jokes, so little time....
If it bleeds, we can fry it :0D
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Post by YaZoR »

Not sure on this so I'll ask. I use a multi monitor setup (2x 21"), and wondered if it is ok to use both or only just allowed one?
meh
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Post by CyberDrac »

The desks used are standard fold out school dinner type tables and you have half of it, 2 x 21" may technically fit, but I think that out of courtesy to your neighbour you should either leave one at home, make an arrangement with them to compensate them for encroaching on their space, or purchase the space next to you and spread yourself out in true style.

'der Management will discuss it and try and come up with a fair ruling on this, however it will probably be a case of either buy the whole desk or leave one at home for the weekend since there is also a power issue where if two screens become the norm the venue's power supply would probably just collapse.

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Post by YaZoR »

Yea no prob drac. I was expecting to only be allowed to use one. Just wanted to see if two was acceptable. One screen is good enough for me!
meh
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