GenCon 2010- Day 4

Day 4 was pretty much just a pack up and go sort of day, with a little bit of final purchasing before getting back in the car for a ride home.

There was one relevant detail, though. I had missed it initially, but one of the guys from the Clan Grand Melee messaged me on Twitter, looking to meet me. Turns out, one of the line developers that wasn't at GenCon saw my angry tweet about the event, and wanted to try to make amends. He sent along a painted 'Mech as a peace offering, and Joseph, the bloke from the game, passed it along. It was much appreciated, and the chance to talk about the game after I'd cooled down a bit was almost as good. CGL seems to like to structure these things like the fiction says they should be, which I can respect, much as single-elimination stings. Apparently there is talk about upping the Battle Value next year to allow Medium 'mechs if there's going to be water on the board. I suggested having a second table already set up and sending downed mechs over there to continue playing, even if they're not eligible for the win, just to keep people from feeling like their time is wasted, and apparently someone in the Powers That Be dug that idea, so maybe it'll be in effect next year. Like I said, I can dig that they want the Grand Melee to be the way it is described in the events, but in tourneys for other systems, even if you know you're irrelevant after losing game 1, it's still fun to get to play the next few rounds.

GenCon 2010- Day 1

So, since last year, liveblogging from the show floor didn't go so well, I'm taking a moment to collect my thoughts in my hotel room (plus, this keyboard is much nicer than my phone). Today was mostly wandering the vendor hall, plus a Battletech event that I was quite looking forward to (more on that later).

I haven't gotten to sit down and check out demos just yet, today was more scoping things out, and picking up the "got to have it" items. The new Malifaux book is quite lovely (Martha is reading it at the moment, so I haven't gotten all the details yet), and the Battletech Hexpack: Lakes and Rivers is a giant leap forwards from the crummy paper mapsheets included in the current starter box. There was a show special on starters for the WoW CCG, so I picked one up on a whim and played a game- it's a decent "post-Magic" game, not the sort of thing that I'm going to rush out and buy a case of, but it's kind of a fun thing to have kicking around for a lull in the show.

So about that Battletech event. Total bullshit. Apparently the full rules didn't get posted until a week ago on the Catalyst Games forums, which I had checked a few weeks ago. There was very little info on the GenCon registration site, beyond "bring a Clan Omnimech". No weight limits, BV totals, etc. So I happily went to work on my Summoner, ordered some decals, tinkered with different variants, until I was pretty sure I was set to go today. I even emailed the contact address listed on the GenCon website to make sure I had all the details. When I arrived, they had trouble even pointing me to the right place for my event (which was not the table with the sign for the event on it). Once I got there, I discovered that it was really just a qualifier for the actual Bloodname Trial that's going on tomorrow (and I couldn't find tickets for earlier, oddly). Everyone had to pick from a list of five light mechs, none of which I was even remotely familiar with. I know there is a segment of the BT-playing populace that really likes lights, but while it's fun to run around the battlefield 9 hexes at a time, I can't think of a single other thing that recommends them. With armor made of tissue paper, they become incredibly luck-driven. So anyway, after a 30-minute delay, since half the table didn't know the rules that had been added, so everyone had to pick mechs, we get started. Turn one, I advance (walking, not running...) into a river. My mech immediately trips, takes one point of damage, and the right torso floods with water, rendering everything in that section and the right arm inoperable. Turn 2, I manage to stand up, catch a flight of missiles in the chest, and a lucky center-torso crit causes another engine hit, and I'm out. Elapsed time: 45 minutes, 30 of which were waiting to pick a mech and get started. The program specified 8 HOURS, which meant that the whole experience cost me $16. Easily the worst experience I have ever had at a convention. I will very likely not be bothering with BT at GenCon again, unless CGL seriously gets their shit together.