I don't even know where to begin. Tournament was bunk! I can't believe it! Let's start off with attendance..."100+ registered"...more like 12 showed up.Host can't count!! I'm still in Texas now suffering through this crap trip! I was mislead...another thing "the Real Bout Fatal Fury II" had two contestants! All contestants were given zero minutes, zero seconds to warm up. I'll post more on this tragic event when I get home. Oh yeah , by the way Shawn, If you'll give $400 in gift certificates to any jackass with green hair that holds a tournament with 12 people, I'll be dying my hair next week and my tournament will be the following day. So anybody who wants to come contact me. I already have 50 people registered! It'll be in my garage but it will be air conditioned unlike Autobots Arcade; $5 enty fee and you have to pay to play the games. I don't care if you fly from Russia.
TEXAS TOURNEY HOAX
- Thread starter naomi
- Start date
snk_gakusei
n00b
- Joined
- May 13, 2001
- Posts
- 10
I agree, the tournament was a little bunk. But there may have been some details left out. I mean, I do feel sorry for those of you who did travel all this way just for a sorry tourney. But that still doesn't mean you shouldn't have a good time. Think about Kensu from France. I just hope he can find other ways to enjoy America. Anyways, the 400 bucks didn't get all handed out also. I believe Roger only gave away 125 of it as second place in the KoF tourney. It's cool though. I mean I feel really sorry for Roger. It's not his fault people did not show-up. It's not his fault that others were disorganized. I mean there were 12 Mexican players that prepaid and failed to show-up. 8 or so players driving from New Mexico and got lost somewhere and called just to ask "Where is Dallas?". So come on don't blame him, Roger tried his best. I commend Roger for staying so calm through the entire thing. And at least he went ahead and ran the tourney. Even though it was a bad tourney, I am not complaining. I have gone further for less. Sorry for everyone that was dissappointed. And great games to those that deserve it. I hope that people won't look down on Roger in the SNK community, it really wasn't his fault. FYI There was another major tournament being held in town where I know at least 10-20 players would have come to the SNK tourney if not for the Tekken one which was the other one. BTW the Tekken tournament had 131 contestant from all across the nation. Including KoFTekken from California. As I said there were many other factors contributing to the bad tournament. I say it was just a huge case of bad luck.
The Black Knight
Cheng's Errand Boy
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Posts
- 120
"Host can't count"...that's not very nice, or correct. 100+ DID register...and some of them even sent money. The KOF prize money contained entry fees from no-shows. It seems a lot of people thought this tourney was a hoax BEFORE it started, which is why you may think it's a hoax now. naomi, I think you're being really harsh about this, and calling the guy at animation town a jackass is TRULY uncalled for. That kind of direct attack should only be reserved for people like Dion Dakis, not someone who tried really hard to pioneer a Neo-Geo tournament.
I think it was, what, $500 in store credit? I believe it was all handed out...$125 split over four games. SS4, LB2, MotW, KOF2k.
There was plenty of warmup for KOF2k, and if you wanted to warm up for LB2 or Metal Slug, the machine was open practically 100% of the time it wasn't being used for a tournament. No one touched it. I'm sure they would have loaded it up on credits/turned on freeplay if anyone had even asked to warm up.
I don't think it's fair to attack the first people to offer a Neo-Geo tournament in a long time, however it turns out, especially when there was so much good about it. It was on REAL Neo-Geo Japanese cabinets, and it's not even in Japan. They were willing to allow people to hook up their own sticks for KOF2k (I wouldn't have allowed that, because I believe in a standard across the board, but it was nice of them.)
I think the main problem here is that so few showed up. How can you try to have such a tournament and take it seriously when over 75% of the registered attendees skip out on the event?
I don't recommend you go around blaming anyone, be it the store or that 20 some-odd players that didn't show, because then stores wont hold Neo-Geo tournaments in the future out of fear of angering too many folks. Things didn't work out exactly as planned, but this is the FIRST TIME it's been tried in this manner, in an enthusiast light, like a small Japanese tournament. It wouldn't be fair to damn all future attempts by attacking good people who were either trying out their first tournament with limited cabinets and experience or were coming to their first Neo-Geo tournament and made a few mistakes, which unfortunately kept them from attending.
But despite the low attendance, I think most everyone (except naomi, and I'm sorry for that) had a good time. It's not every day people get to find SOME competition for these SNK games. And I think a lot of people thought it was a hoax BEFORE it happened, and now that it did, maybe next time people wont take it so lightly. Playing on pretty Japanese cabinets is cool, and they even put up Sengoku 3. Hell, I'd be willing to make a trip just to see Sengoku 3. I know some game magazine editors that have yet to see it, but I have.
Please don't blame anyone for this, because it's over, and everyone did the best they could with what they had. Let me tell you something...I have been to far worse organizations that have been called "tournaments". Something low-key like this is FAR more civilized than, say, a MVC2 tournament. I went to one with so many attendees that the room was a furnace, and audiences heckled and crowded the players. This was coupled with two absolutely SORRY MVC2 machines...I'm not going to get into a rant about US sticks, but these US sticks and buttons were really crap, and the monitor on one of the MVCs was dark and ugly, making it difficult to see.
Just having a tournament with good controllers and bright, crisp monitors with respectful players is a joy in itself, REGARDLESS of how many people attend. As snk_gakusei, who attends a lot of tourneys, said: "I have gone further for less." So have I. So count your blessings...there are tourneys 20x worse than this one, whether you felt this tourney was bad or not. Give the poor guys a break.
- The Black Knight
I think it was, what, $500 in store credit? I believe it was all handed out...$125 split over four games. SS4, LB2, MotW, KOF2k.
There was plenty of warmup for KOF2k, and if you wanted to warm up for LB2 or Metal Slug, the machine was open practically 100% of the time it wasn't being used for a tournament. No one touched it. I'm sure they would have loaded it up on credits/turned on freeplay if anyone had even asked to warm up.
I don't think it's fair to attack the first people to offer a Neo-Geo tournament in a long time, however it turns out, especially when there was so much good about it. It was on REAL Neo-Geo Japanese cabinets, and it's not even in Japan. They were willing to allow people to hook up their own sticks for KOF2k (I wouldn't have allowed that, because I believe in a standard across the board, but it was nice of them.)
I think the main problem here is that so few showed up. How can you try to have such a tournament and take it seriously when over 75% of the registered attendees skip out on the event?
I don't recommend you go around blaming anyone, be it the store or that 20 some-odd players that didn't show, because then stores wont hold Neo-Geo tournaments in the future out of fear of angering too many folks. Things didn't work out exactly as planned, but this is the FIRST TIME it's been tried in this manner, in an enthusiast light, like a small Japanese tournament. It wouldn't be fair to damn all future attempts by attacking good people who were either trying out their first tournament with limited cabinets and experience or were coming to their first Neo-Geo tournament and made a few mistakes, which unfortunately kept them from attending.
But despite the low attendance, I think most everyone (except naomi, and I'm sorry for that) had a good time. It's not every day people get to find SOME competition for these SNK games. And I think a lot of people thought it was a hoax BEFORE it happened, and now that it did, maybe next time people wont take it so lightly. Playing on pretty Japanese cabinets is cool, and they even put up Sengoku 3. Hell, I'd be willing to make a trip just to see Sengoku 3. I know some game magazine editors that have yet to see it, but I have.
Please don't blame anyone for this, because it's over, and everyone did the best they could with what they had. Let me tell you something...I have been to far worse organizations that have been called "tournaments". Something low-key like this is FAR more civilized than, say, a MVC2 tournament. I went to one with so many attendees that the room was a furnace, and audiences heckled and crowded the players. This was coupled with two absolutely SORRY MVC2 machines...I'm not going to get into a rant about US sticks, but these US sticks and buttons were really crap, and the monitor on one of the MVCs was dark and ugly, making it difficult to see.
Just having a tournament with good controllers and bright, crisp monitors with respectful players is a joy in itself, REGARDLESS of how many people attend. As snk_gakusei, who attends a lot of tourneys, said: "I have gone further for less." So have I. So count your blessings...there are tourneys 20x worse than this one, whether you felt this tourney was bad or not. Give the poor guys a break.
- The Black Knight
OF COURSE, I EXPECT THE LOCALS TO STICK UP FOR THE LOCAL JACKASS. YOU GUYS DIDN'T TAKE TIME OFF WORK AND SPEND 300 BUCKS PLUS TO FLY OUT TO A HOAX. I'M SORRY IF I'M UPSET, BUT I MADE MY DECISION TO ATTEND THE TOURNAMENT BASED ON A BUNCH OF LIES AND FALSE STATEMENTS AND I BELIEVE THAT I WAS INTENTIONALLY MISLEAD. THE MACHINES, SURE THE GUY HAS 6 NEO GEO CANDY CABINETS WITH ONLY 2 OF THEM CONTAINING NEO GEO BOARDS AND ANOTHER WITH A HYPER64. THE OTHER MACHINES HAD DRAGONBALLZ, AND DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS. WHY WERE THEY NOT NEO GEOS? WAS THIS NOT A NEO GEO TOURNAMENT? AND AS FOR THE COMMENT ABOUT PLAYING WITH NICE PEOPLE, I FEEL THE OPPOSITE. EVERYBODY HAD THEIR HEAD SO FAR UP KING OF FIGHTERS ASS THAT THEY NEGLECTED TO GIVE ANY PLAY TO MARK OF THE WOLVES OR ANY OTHER TITLES THAT WERE IN THAT CABINET. ALSO, THIS IS WHAT REALLY PISSED ME OFF AND MADE ME WALK OUT OF THE TOURNAMENT. AFTER THE TOURNAMENT FOR METALSLUG BEGAN, THE LOCAL ON THE KING OF FIGHTER MACHINE FINALLY GOT UP FROM THE MACHINE TO WATCH THE METAL SLUG TOURNAMENT, I THOUGHT, GREAT, FINALLY A CHANCE FOR ME TO PLAY MARK OF THE WOLVES AND THEN BEFORE I EVEN BEGAN, THE LOCAL RETURNS BACK TO THE MACHINE AND TELLS ME THAT HE WAS PLAYING THERE AND HE WANTS HIS MACHINE BACK. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT NORTH RICHLAND GHETO,BUT WHERE I'M FROM WHEN SOMEBODY WALKS AWAY FROM A MACHINE, THAT MACHINE IS AVAILABLE FOR ANOTHER PLAYER. I DIDN'T FLY OUT HERE TO BE PUSHED AROUND BY THE LOCAL FAT KID AT THE ARCADE.
AS FAR AS THE PRIZES GO, I JUST THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR THAT THE "EVENT" WAS NOT AS IT WAS ADVERTISED AND I THINK THAT IT IS A LITTLE REDICULOUS FOR SOME ONE TO BE AWARDED FOR PLAYING ONE GAME AGAINST ONE PERSON. BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN WHAT IT'S ABOUT. IF YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT PRIZES OR BEING #1, YOUR WRONG! I CAME OUT HERE FOR A GOOD TIME WHICH I DIDN'T HAVE DUE TO THE ATTITUDES OF THE LOCALS. YOU KNOW WHAT ... I'M NOT EVEN HOME YET. I'LL FINISH POSTING ABOUT THIS LATER, AND I'M ALSO SURE THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WALKED OUT OF THE "TOURNAMENT". YOU WASTED MY TIME ... THANKS!
AS FAR AS THE PRIZES GO, I JUST THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE MADE CLEAR THAT THE "EVENT" WAS NOT AS IT WAS ADVERTISED AND I THINK THAT IT IS A LITTLE REDICULOUS FOR SOME ONE TO BE AWARDED FOR PLAYING ONE GAME AGAINST ONE PERSON. BUT THAT'S NOT EVEN WHAT IT'S ABOUT. IF YOU THINK I GIVE A SHIT ABOUT PRIZES OR BEING #1, YOUR WRONG! I CAME OUT HERE FOR A GOOD TIME WHICH I DIDN'T HAVE DUE TO THE ATTITUDES OF THE LOCALS. YOU KNOW WHAT ... I'M NOT EVEN HOME YET. I'LL FINISH POSTING ABOUT THIS LATER, AND I'M ALSO SURE THAT I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO WALKED OUT OF THE "TOURNAMENT". YOU WASTED MY TIME ... THANKS!
The Black Knight
Cheng's Errand Boy
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Posts
- 120
*sigh*...
I'm not sticking up for him. I'm calling it like I see it. I've flown/driven to tourneys before, and while I was angry at first with those, I realized later it wasn't a total loss, because I was able to see a new part of the world, travel a bit, and learn from what happened. That kind of experience is invaluable...to some.
You aren't sorry at all. Being sorry indicates you wont continue what you are doing. You're ready to blow off more steam, I'm sure, and I fully expect another violent reply.
But it's the next part of this quote I like. You say you were lied to, and best of all, "INTENTIONALLY MISLEAD."
First of all, it's intentionally misled. Second, who in the HELL has the motive to intentionally mislead you to come to a tournament that's a 2-5 dollar entry? You think this store was trying to fool people into flying down for a "fake" tournament, just to get...and let me get this right...5-10 bucks? You don't need to involve air travel to do that...scam artists can make more than that driving around in one evening. And they wont even get that paltry amount of cash, because like you say, you backed out on the whole deal (unless you were particularly stupid and prepaid and didn't ask for your money back for NOT being in the tourney). So the only benefit for a bunch of guys that try to run a Japanese-style Neo-Geo arcade is a strange, malicious pleasure in having people fly in for a tournament. Uh huh. That's a good one, especially considering the staff was talking the whole time about how disappointed they were in turnout, wondering where 20-30 of their PREREGISTERED tournament players had gone. I found you even hinting at this kind of a purely malicious scam particularly asinine and, well, idiotic. Only an idiot could think that people trying to run a Neo-Geo tournament would maliciously and intentionally mislead NUMEROUS people to come down for a tournament. And if they did, why the HELL would they even have to have an arcade? If someone had this kind of scam, they could just hold it out of their home, give a fake address, and laugh when people complained. These people had all the goods for a tournament, which are as follows:
ONE copy of the game
ONE cabinet to play it on
SOME staff to run the tourney
ONE of MORE prizes
I have been to tournaments that have had LESS and have been scraping for the requisite items in the last minute. So let's address some of your complaints, keeping that in mind:
It's not required that everything in there be a Neo-Geo for a tournament. I have been in huge tournaments that had but one machine, and while it takes a LONG time, it all works out. And in the case of this tourney, they started at 11'o'clock so that the turnout they EXPECTED could be worked around one machine. Starting at, say, 6PM would have been a valid thing to complain about. But they started early because they were expecting turnout, and had limited machines. It's truly a pity people didn't show. They planned around one copy of the game, and that's what they had...that's all most arcades can afford. More Neo-Geos would be nice. But they never claimed such a thing in the advertisements.
Let's touch on that, shall we? There was never any such claim that they would have more than one copy of the game. You ASSUMED such. In fact, you assumed a lot, and because you did, you were let down. That comes from a lack of experience with tournaments. You should assume NOTHING. It's not pessimism. It's the nature of the beast. This is NOT Japan. These tournaments are NOT sponsored by SNK, and even if they were, SNK is so dead in Japan anyway a tournament today in Japan would probably be JUST AS SPARTAN. These carts are EXPENSIVE, EVEN in MVS. Most of us only buy one copy of the games we play. Why should it be required for an arcade to buy more than one copy, especially when KOF2k has such an underground following here in the U.S.?
They never claimed such a thing, and when I saw their tournament post, I knew immediately that there would probably only be one copy. Why didn't you? Ignorance. Now you know about the REAL face of U.S. tournaments--the difficulties small shops like this face in funding and logistics, the spartan nature of the arcades, and more. Only one thing was missing from this tournament that marks most other tournaments, and it isn't the shop's fault at all.
Here we go...
and...
I'm also sure you're not the only one that was a no-show because they suddenly felt things would be too spartan for their tastes.
I think this all roots back to the arrogant nature of some Neo-Geo fans and owners. Now this is some, not all...there are people like Shawn, BonusKun, Big Bruno, and others that realize the nature of their hobby. (I apologize for using you guys' names, it's just that you do a great credit to the Neo-Geo hobbyist community)
And then there are others that think they are buying into some elite jet-set that owns expensive cartridges, much like some African-Americans gold-plate their BMWs to show off their riches. And those same people ASSUME, and EXPECT that when a Neo-Geo tournament is run, they are going to be walking into a glitzy Vegas affair with an announcer and a big screen and dancing girls and...
This is the kind of Neo-Geo fandom that a man named Dion Dakis tends to promote. Getting the "crump". Next thing you know, it will be the greatest thing to gold plate your Neo-Geo (<fanboy> huhuh, check out my Neo-Geo GOLD system <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">).
That's what's spawning this attitude. And the way I see it, it's not only responsible for you walking out in your childish display of disgust, but also for the no-shows that led to the tournament being so small.
THAT is the one thing missing from this tournament. The setup is the SAME setup I am used to at NUMEROUS proven, advertised tournaments. Your whole argument that it was substandard in that area, therefore, is a load of utter bullshit. Anything you say subsequently to that effect will continue to be bullshit, because again, tournaments are RUN LIKE THIS EVERY DAY. Many of them are good.
People were missing. And people were missing because they backed out when they found out it wasn't going to be what they wanted. I said earlier we shouldn't place blame. I think a little needs to go out to the people that didn't show, and a bit more needs to go out to people like you that walked out, further lowering the tournament count.
I think something else contributed to lack of attendance. The kind of Neo fans that would come to this thing are rabidly afraid of actual competition. Recent Neo-Geo fighters don't exactly populate everyone's arcades. I know this feeling firsthand...you think you are hot shit playing the CPU at home, and you stop developing your skills, thinking your mode of play is "plenty enough to win". Then you come to the arcade and see people that actually play these games consistently to practice, and enjoy many fighting games for the depth of their various systems. And then you realize you're going to get stomped.
The Neo-Geo tournament "community", if you will, is fledgeling here in the U.S.. Few have the guts to run a tournament of Neo-Geo games, and fewer still have the confidence to show up/participate.
Some would argue "Well, if I can't win, I wont play". I think this is wrong. If you can't win, but you like the game, you spend that money so you can LEARN how to play in a tournament. If you actually want to play in a tournament, you fucking show up, you put down that money, win or lose, and you play, not just to possibly win, but to have fun and LEARN.
And so for that reason and many more, you and numerous others backed out. And I heard about this eavesdropping, while I was there. Stories about people that showed up, but in childish disgust went walking the mall dejectedly, muttering how the arcade should be ashamed of their setup. I'm surprised grown men can be that immature...well, wait, no I'm not. I've sadly seen it too often. So when I heard about this, I chalked it up to the strange, arrogant, and holier-than-thou Neo fanbase that I've seen all too often.
You made a choice, and so did your friends. You want to blame the tournament for low turnout? Blame yourselves. You didn't play, you walked out. And that same mentality is why others didn't show up. They're quitters.
A tournament requires players. If they all quit, you don't have much a tournament. The blame lies with YOU.
You shouldn't have tipped your hand that you walked out on the tourney. You lost all credibility the second you said that. If you had stuck through it, played, and then complained, you'd have some validity. But to fly down just to get disgusted and whine like a five-year-old? Then you have no more validity than a five-year-old.
All right, let's move on.
Well, isn't that unfortunate! Did you tell the tournament staff that you really wanted to practice for MotW, and you'd like to do so before the tourney? Or maybe you spoke to this "LOCAL FAT KID" and said you really wanted to practice MotW.
Or did you sulk like the five-year-old that you are, biding your time so you could come onto this board to bitch and moan behind the safety of the Internet?
Door number three. You really shouldn't have opened your mouth about your experiences...it's just proving what a child you are, and not a man. Did you mommy and daddy let you fly down here? Did you get wings from the Captain on the plane?
Grow up. If someone gets up from the machine at an arcade, and sits back down coming back, I don't meekly shrink into the corner. I don't make dirty glances at them hoping they feel my "battle aura" and run away crying. I talk to them, and if that doesn't work, I head for the management. And then you prove your further lack of maturity by calling this person fat. It's always nice to see yet another mental child concerned with physical appearances.
You're just digging yourself deeper, my friend. And it doesn't help that you posted in all capital letters. It REALLY makes you look stupid.
And while we're on the subject of that particular Neo-Geo cabinet, the staff was NICE ENOUGH to put free credits on that machine. At every other tourney I've been to, you PAY to practice. That you'd whine about free games...I find that even more disgusting.
And I really got a laugh over your comment about people having their heads up KOF's ass. Good choice of words. But KOF2k is the latest Neo-Geo fighting game...that's what happens with recent fighting games. And if you wanted to play something else on that MVS, like I said, you should have asked. I'm sure the people on there would have finished their game and relinquished it to you. I'll just chalk it up to your all-around anger that you complained about something that happens in every arcade that has a MVS with KOF2k and something else on the same cabinet. Do you even go to arcades a lot? I've seen this phenomenon so often I can't count the times...and if KOF2k is running in an arcade and it's getting major competition, you wont even be able to ask to switch games. You had this luxury here, and you didn't even take the option. Oh well...live and learn.
Now you're going to try to take the prizes away from the winners? The people that actually made the effort to show up, that were not like you, cutting off your nose to spite your face?
This all boils back to people not showing up. When a tourney is this small, you have few matches. Maybe if you and your buddies hadn't of run away with your tail between your legs, there would have been more than these few matches. I applaud them for still running the tournament, going through with it, with so few people. They certainly have more balls than a coward who runs out when he doesn't see a massive crowd.
If you get a bunch of people that run away when they don't see a crowd of players, and they, say, show up 5 minutes apart so a crowd never forms, NO CROWD ever forms. I have a feeling that's another thing that contributed to the problem of low turnout.
And...the event was not as advertised? Hold on, let me look at the flyer on the front page...
*looks*
No, everything on there pretty much happened. They had KOF2k and more, but a lot of those games didn't even have a tournament because of folks like you that backed out.
And then there were some that were just too damned stupid to even figure out travelling. I overheard the tournament staff talking about how people were calling THAT morning, from states like Ohio, asking how to get there. Maybe everyone that was there should chip in and buy these morons a MAP.
Someone likes finding scapegoats for their own personal problems. Oh well, so does 75% of the human race.
The only person you should be angry at is yourself. And you probably are already, to some extent. I know how that anger feels--to your credit, it's irrational and wholly annoying. I know how frustrated you must feel right now. But you need to stop diverting the blame away from where it belongs.
It belongs on the people that didn't show up and the people that backed out. The tournament took place. If you weren't there, that's your problem, and also a problem for the people that went expecting turnout. This was a cascade failure of sorts, but at least the guys at the store recovered by actually holding the tourneys as best they could. And I have to reiterate, with NO local bias WHATSOEVER...they did a good job, compared to the current U.S. standard for tournaments. That is a cold, hard fact, that comes from my experience, and the experience of many others.
My opinion is not only mine, but the opinion of many people I know, some friends, some not, that go to many game tournaments both home and abroad. I have related all this information to them, and they have agreed consistently. The most common theme?
"It's the damned fault of those stupid shits that didn't fucking show up!"
In their words, not mine.
I applaud Animation Town (I believe that was the name) for running this tourney, and I hope they don't give up in the face of this adversity. Now that people know they mean business, that they will run tourneys, and that it isn't a hoax (perhaps you need to look up the word hoax in the dictionary...the tournament occurred, smart-ass), maybe turnout wont suck next time. Maybe people will take things as seriously as they intended to.
Go ahead and bring your flames. I enjoy the exercise.
*calms down*
But...
But I'd rather you didn't, for everyone's sake. There's no need to fight here. In your most recent post, you are starting to get viciously personal. I don't want you to dig yourself into a hole that you can't climb out of, personally attacking the people at this tournament. Some of them (not me, of course) might take it personally, and this matter might escalate. I recommend we drop things now. The tournament is over. I see it in a certain light, and I know that no matter what I say to you, you will continue to see it that way. I only post this so that others reading will be able to get the whole story and form their own opinion.
naomi, everything I said above me calming down...take with a grain of salt. I wrote that after reading your unsavory reply, and I was a bit angry. I had things to say, and I said them in an insulting tone, to be sure. Forget the insults...read past them to get my message, if it's possible. I don't want this to turn into a flame war.
I think this matter should be finished. I hope we can agree to disagree and drop this, and look forward to to the next Neo-Geo tourney there will be. Hopefully the staff and players attending will learn from their mistakes and make it a better experience than this one was. I really am sorry you had a bad time, though. I hope the next tourney you go to will make up for it.
Let me try something that might help. I thoroughly did NOT enjoy this year's A-Kon...some parts were good, but overall I had a very bad experience. Staff WAS to blame (although I feel that was not the case at North Hills...but we disagree on that), and so were attendees. I was very angry, and I posted on A-Kon's message board. And people posted back. Some told me off. But convention staff showed up and offered me an apology for their behavior.
On that note, to break out of the story for a second, I think the staff of that store in North Hills are sorry the tournament ended up like it did...I believe there was a post to that effect.
Anyway, the attendees to blame, of course, never apologized...much like this recent situation. Staff that wasn't even involved in the problem apologized for the bad staff.
But what helped the most were people that talked to me and said "calm down...it wasn't bad for everyone, but I'm really sorry it was bad for you. Maybe next time will be better! Let me tell you about the bad time I had in California!"
And then they related an even worse story that had me shocked...it made my experience look like small potatoes.
Let me try that.
I went to a MVC2 tourney in Houston. It was a long drive in a cramped car, and the money spent on gas was...too much. When I arrived at the tourney, it was horribly crowded. The arcade was way too small for a tournament of this magnitude. There were a large group of what a friend told me were called "cholos" in Spanish. It is a slang term for Hispanic folks who drive around in the gold-hubcapped cars with hydraulics, talking big and acting in a gang mentality.
It was hot. There was no air-conditioning. Some people who came smelled like raw sewage...others like rendering plants. The tournament was poorly organized, with staff trying to yell over the rowdy crowd. The morons put the bracket in the CENTER of the crowd (why, I still don't know). One of the machines was garbage appearance-wise (including the video quality). The other machine was ok, but the joysticks/buttons on both machines were very abused and hard to use.
The signup fee was, I believe, 10 dollars.
My name was finally called after a long wait for my first round game. I played on the nicer machine, and I lost fair-and-square to a very cheap trap player, who also happened to be tournament staff. I'm not too keen on staff playing in tourneys, because it could be viewed as a moneymaking scam...run a tournament, take up the money, all staff plays, and staff winner splits the money amongst his staff friends. The staff is in the arcade every day, and gets major practice, providing what may be an unfair advantage. But that argument has been tried over and over, and constantly fails, sadly. Oh well. So far, I was miffed from losing, but I didn't give up. It was double-elimination, and I had a chance in the loser's bracket.
So I went to the losers bracket. After another long, sweaty wait, I was called for my match, and I walked up to the ugly machine. I was up against the largest member of the cholos in presence. He proceeded to shittalk me...in tournament vernacular, that means trying to say things to make me lose...derogatory things. I picked my first team, and lost by a narrow margin, with his friends murmuring behind me. By the second match, they were crowding closer and closer to me (not him at all). I picked a very...cheap team. And I won very cheaply. Halfway through the match, his whole group began to shittalk me right in my ear. I looked back for help from the tournament manager, my face coming to meet nose-to-nose with one of the cholos, who slightly stepped to the side to allow me to see past. The manager noticed me, and looked away. I figured I was on my own. Looking back, I should have walked up to him, away from the machine, and complained. But I took my team for the final match, and played once more. When they saw me winning, they realized words would not be enough. During a critical point in the match, my butt was pinched (hehe, I see readers laughing), and the small of my back/kidneys were alternately poked. I flubbed some moves in shock (I don't like having my personal space invaded), and lost the match. The shittalking at the end was particularly vicious...words like:
"FUCK that cheap bitch UP! *raucous laughter* Yeah, fuck that shit. Little fuckin' white boy gettin' his ass owned HAHAH"
Perhaps this was one of the circumstances that convinced me to train in various martial arts...without the knowledge I have now, I would have been defenseless if the situation had escalated beyond words and simple poking. I was VERY on edge after that match...literally shaking after being poked and prodded like that.
I finished my round, and used my last ounce of calm to shakingly stagger from the machine and look up at the tournament staff watching my game...he gave me a hopeless, "I can't help you" look as I left the arcade.
I was still shaking in anger, shock, dismay, and helplessness almost the entire way home. It was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life up to now.
Well, that's the story. I know that tournaments can suck for one person alone...I hope we can put this all behind us.
- The Black Knight
I'm not sticking up for him. I'm calling it like I see it. I've flown/driven to tourneys before, and while I was angry at first with those, I realized later it wasn't a total loss, because I was able to see a new part of the world, travel a bit, and learn from what happened. That kind of experience is invaluable...to some.
You aren't sorry at all. Being sorry indicates you wont continue what you are doing. You're ready to blow off more steam, I'm sure, and I fully expect another violent reply.
But it's the next part of this quote I like. You say you were lied to, and best of all, "INTENTIONALLY MISLEAD."
First of all, it's intentionally misled. Second, who in the HELL has the motive to intentionally mislead you to come to a tournament that's a 2-5 dollar entry? You think this store was trying to fool people into flying down for a "fake" tournament, just to get...and let me get this right...5-10 bucks? You don't need to involve air travel to do that...scam artists can make more than that driving around in one evening. And they wont even get that paltry amount of cash, because like you say, you backed out on the whole deal (unless you were particularly stupid and prepaid and didn't ask for your money back for NOT being in the tourney). So the only benefit for a bunch of guys that try to run a Japanese-style Neo-Geo arcade is a strange, malicious pleasure in having people fly in for a tournament. Uh huh. That's a good one, especially considering the staff was talking the whole time about how disappointed they were in turnout, wondering where 20-30 of their PREREGISTERED tournament players had gone. I found you even hinting at this kind of a purely malicious scam particularly asinine and, well, idiotic. Only an idiot could think that people trying to run a Neo-Geo tournament would maliciously and intentionally mislead NUMEROUS people to come down for a tournament. And if they did, why the HELL would they even have to have an arcade? If someone had this kind of scam, they could just hold it out of their home, give a fake address, and laugh when people complained. These people had all the goods for a tournament, which are as follows:
ONE copy of the game
ONE cabinet to play it on
SOME staff to run the tourney
ONE of MORE prizes
I have been to tournaments that have had LESS and have been scraping for the requisite items in the last minute. So let's address some of your complaints, keeping that in mind:
It's not required that everything in there be a Neo-Geo for a tournament. I have been in huge tournaments that had but one machine, and while it takes a LONG time, it all works out. And in the case of this tourney, they started at 11'o'clock so that the turnout they EXPECTED could be worked around one machine. Starting at, say, 6PM would have been a valid thing to complain about. But they started early because they were expecting turnout, and had limited machines. It's truly a pity people didn't show. They planned around one copy of the game, and that's what they had...that's all most arcades can afford. More Neo-Geos would be nice. But they never claimed such a thing in the advertisements.
Let's touch on that, shall we? There was never any such claim that they would have more than one copy of the game. You ASSUMED such. In fact, you assumed a lot, and because you did, you were let down. That comes from a lack of experience with tournaments. You should assume NOTHING. It's not pessimism. It's the nature of the beast. This is NOT Japan. These tournaments are NOT sponsored by SNK, and even if they were, SNK is so dead in Japan anyway a tournament today in Japan would probably be JUST AS SPARTAN. These carts are EXPENSIVE, EVEN in MVS. Most of us only buy one copy of the games we play. Why should it be required for an arcade to buy more than one copy, especially when KOF2k has such an underground following here in the U.S.?
They never claimed such a thing, and when I saw their tournament post, I knew immediately that there would probably only be one copy. Why didn't you? Ignorance. Now you know about the REAL face of U.S. tournaments--the difficulties small shops like this face in funding and logistics, the spartan nature of the arcades, and more. Only one thing was missing from this tournament that marks most other tournaments, and it isn't the shop's fault at all.
Here we go...
and...
I'm also sure you're not the only one that was a no-show because they suddenly felt things would be too spartan for their tastes.
I think this all roots back to the arrogant nature of some Neo-Geo fans and owners. Now this is some, not all...there are people like Shawn, BonusKun, Big Bruno, and others that realize the nature of their hobby. (I apologize for using you guys' names, it's just that you do a great credit to the Neo-Geo hobbyist community)
And then there are others that think they are buying into some elite jet-set that owns expensive cartridges, much like some African-Americans gold-plate their BMWs to show off their riches. And those same people ASSUME, and EXPECT that when a Neo-Geo tournament is run, they are going to be walking into a glitzy Vegas affair with an announcer and a big screen and dancing girls and...
This is the kind of Neo-Geo fandom that a man named Dion Dakis tends to promote. Getting the "crump". Next thing you know, it will be the greatest thing to gold plate your Neo-Geo (<fanboy> huhuh, check out my Neo-Geo GOLD system <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">).
That's what's spawning this attitude. And the way I see it, it's not only responsible for you walking out in your childish display of disgust, but also for the no-shows that led to the tournament being so small.
THAT is the one thing missing from this tournament. The setup is the SAME setup I am used to at NUMEROUS proven, advertised tournaments. Your whole argument that it was substandard in that area, therefore, is a load of utter bullshit. Anything you say subsequently to that effect will continue to be bullshit, because again, tournaments are RUN LIKE THIS EVERY DAY. Many of them are good.
People were missing. And people were missing because they backed out when they found out it wasn't going to be what they wanted. I said earlier we shouldn't place blame. I think a little needs to go out to the people that didn't show, and a bit more needs to go out to people like you that walked out, further lowering the tournament count.
I think something else contributed to lack of attendance. The kind of Neo fans that would come to this thing are rabidly afraid of actual competition. Recent Neo-Geo fighters don't exactly populate everyone's arcades. I know this feeling firsthand...you think you are hot shit playing the CPU at home, and you stop developing your skills, thinking your mode of play is "plenty enough to win". Then you come to the arcade and see people that actually play these games consistently to practice, and enjoy many fighting games for the depth of their various systems. And then you realize you're going to get stomped.
The Neo-Geo tournament "community", if you will, is fledgeling here in the U.S.. Few have the guts to run a tournament of Neo-Geo games, and fewer still have the confidence to show up/participate.
Some would argue "Well, if I can't win, I wont play". I think this is wrong. If you can't win, but you like the game, you spend that money so you can LEARN how to play in a tournament. If you actually want to play in a tournament, you fucking show up, you put down that money, win or lose, and you play, not just to possibly win, but to have fun and LEARN.
And so for that reason and many more, you and numerous others backed out. And I heard about this eavesdropping, while I was there. Stories about people that showed up, but in childish disgust went walking the mall dejectedly, muttering how the arcade should be ashamed of their setup. I'm surprised grown men can be that immature...well, wait, no I'm not. I've sadly seen it too often. So when I heard about this, I chalked it up to the strange, arrogant, and holier-than-thou Neo fanbase that I've seen all too often.
You made a choice, and so did your friends. You want to blame the tournament for low turnout? Blame yourselves. You didn't play, you walked out. And that same mentality is why others didn't show up. They're quitters.
A tournament requires players. If they all quit, you don't have much a tournament. The blame lies with YOU.
You shouldn't have tipped your hand that you walked out on the tourney. You lost all credibility the second you said that. If you had stuck through it, played, and then complained, you'd have some validity. But to fly down just to get disgusted and whine like a five-year-old? Then you have no more validity than a five-year-old.
All right, let's move on.
Well, isn't that unfortunate! Did you tell the tournament staff that you really wanted to practice for MotW, and you'd like to do so before the tourney? Or maybe you spoke to this "LOCAL FAT KID" and said you really wanted to practice MotW.
Or did you sulk like the five-year-old that you are, biding your time so you could come onto this board to bitch and moan behind the safety of the Internet?
Door number three. You really shouldn't have opened your mouth about your experiences...it's just proving what a child you are, and not a man. Did you mommy and daddy let you fly down here? Did you get wings from the Captain on the plane?
Grow up. If someone gets up from the machine at an arcade, and sits back down coming back, I don't meekly shrink into the corner. I don't make dirty glances at them hoping they feel my "battle aura" and run away crying. I talk to them, and if that doesn't work, I head for the management. And then you prove your further lack of maturity by calling this person fat. It's always nice to see yet another mental child concerned with physical appearances.
You're just digging yourself deeper, my friend. And it doesn't help that you posted in all capital letters. It REALLY makes you look stupid.
And while we're on the subject of that particular Neo-Geo cabinet, the staff was NICE ENOUGH to put free credits on that machine. At every other tourney I've been to, you PAY to practice. That you'd whine about free games...I find that even more disgusting.
And I really got a laugh over your comment about people having their heads up KOF's ass. Good choice of words. But KOF2k is the latest Neo-Geo fighting game...that's what happens with recent fighting games. And if you wanted to play something else on that MVS, like I said, you should have asked. I'm sure the people on there would have finished their game and relinquished it to you. I'll just chalk it up to your all-around anger that you complained about something that happens in every arcade that has a MVS with KOF2k and something else on the same cabinet. Do you even go to arcades a lot? I've seen this phenomenon so often I can't count the times...and if KOF2k is running in an arcade and it's getting major competition, you wont even be able to ask to switch games. You had this luxury here, and you didn't even take the option. Oh well...live and learn.
Now you're going to try to take the prizes away from the winners? The people that actually made the effort to show up, that were not like you, cutting off your nose to spite your face?
This all boils back to people not showing up. When a tourney is this small, you have few matches. Maybe if you and your buddies hadn't of run away with your tail between your legs, there would have been more than these few matches. I applaud them for still running the tournament, going through with it, with so few people. They certainly have more balls than a coward who runs out when he doesn't see a massive crowd.
If you get a bunch of people that run away when they don't see a crowd of players, and they, say, show up 5 minutes apart so a crowd never forms, NO CROWD ever forms. I have a feeling that's another thing that contributed to the problem of low turnout.
And...the event was not as advertised? Hold on, let me look at the flyer on the front page...
*looks*
No, everything on there pretty much happened. They had KOF2k and more, but a lot of those games didn't even have a tournament because of folks like you that backed out.
And then there were some that were just too damned stupid to even figure out travelling. I overheard the tournament staff talking about how people were calling THAT morning, from states like Ohio, asking how to get there. Maybe everyone that was there should chip in and buy these morons a MAP.
Someone likes finding scapegoats for their own personal problems. Oh well, so does 75% of the human race.
The only person you should be angry at is yourself. And you probably are already, to some extent. I know how that anger feels--to your credit, it's irrational and wholly annoying. I know how frustrated you must feel right now. But you need to stop diverting the blame away from where it belongs.
It belongs on the people that didn't show up and the people that backed out. The tournament took place. If you weren't there, that's your problem, and also a problem for the people that went expecting turnout. This was a cascade failure of sorts, but at least the guys at the store recovered by actually holding the tourneys as best they could. And I have to reiterate, with NO local bias WHATSOEVER...they did a good job, compared to the current U.S. standard for tournaments. That is a cold, hard fact, that comes from my experience, and the experience of many others.
My opinion is not only mine, but the opinion of many people I know, some friends, some not, that go to many game tournaments both home and abroad. I have related all this information to them, and they have agreed consistently. The most common theme?
"It's the damned fault of those stupid shits that didn't fucking show up!"
In their words, not mine.
I applaud Animation Town (I believe that was the name) for running this tourney, and I hope they don't give up in the face of this adversity. Now that people know they mean business, that they will run tourneys, and that it isn't a hoax (perhaps you need to look up the word hoax in the dictionary...the tournament occurred, smart-ass), maybe turnout wont suck next time. Maybe people will take things as seriously as they intended to.
Go ahead and bring your flames. I enjoy the exercise.
*calms down*
But...
But I'd rather you didn't, for everyone's sake. There's no need to fight here. In your most recent post, you are starting to get viciously personal. I don't want you to dig yourself into a hole that you can't climb out of, personally attacking the people at this tournament. Some of them (not me, of course) might take it personally, and this matter might escalate. I recommend we drop things now. The tournament is over. I see it in a certain light, and I know that no matter what I say to you, you will continue to see it that way. I only post this so that others reading will be able to get the whole story and form their own opinion.
naomi, everything I said above me calming down...take with a grain of salt. I wrote that after reading your unsavory reply, and I was a bit angry. I had things to say, and I said them in an insulting tone, to be sure. Forget the insults...read past them to get my message, if it's possible. I don't want this to turn into a flame war.
I think this matter should be finished. I hope we can agree to disagree and drop this, and look forward to to the next Neo-Geo tourney there will be. Hopefully the staff and players attending will learn from their mistakes and make it a better experience than this one was. I really am sorry you had a bad time, though. I hope the next tourney you go to will make up for it.
Let me try something that might help. I thoroughly did NOT enjoy this year's A-Kon...some parts were good, but overall I had a very bad experience. Staff WAS to blame (although I feel that was not the case at North Hills...but we disagree on that), and so were attendees. I was very angry, and I posted on A-Kon's message board. And people posted back. Some told me off. But convention staff showed up and offered me an apology for their behavior.
On that note, to break out of the story for a second, I think the staff of that store in North Hills are sorry the tournament ended up like it did...I believe there was a post to that effect.
Anyway, the attendees to blame, of course, never apologized...much like this recent situation. Staff that wasn't even involved in the problem apologized for the bad staff.
But what helped the most were people that talked to me and said "calm down...it wasn't bad for everyone, but I'm really sorry it was bad for you. Maybe next time will be better! Let me tell you about the bad time I had in California!"
And then they related an even worse story that had me shocked...it made my experience look like small potatoes.
Let me try that.
I went to a MVC2 tourney in Houston. It was a long drive in a cramped car, and the money spent on gas was...too much. When I arrived at the tourney, it was horribly crowded. The arcade was way too small for a tournament of this magnitude. There were a large group of what a friend told me were called "cholos" in Spanish. It is a slang term for Hispanic folks who drive around in the gold-hubcapped cars with hydraulics, talking big and acting in a gang mentality.
It was hot. There was no air-conditioning. Some people who came smelled like raw sewage...others like rendering plants. The tournament was poorly organized, with staff trying to yell over the rowdy crowd. The morons put the bracket in the CENTER of the crowd (why, I still don't know). One of the machines was garbage appearance-wise (including the video quality). The other machine was ok, but the joysticks/buttons on both machines were very abused and hard to use.
The signup fee was, I believe, 10 dollars.
My name was finally called after a long wait for my first round game. I played on the nicer machine, and I lost fair-and-square to a very cheap trap player, who also happened to be tournament staff. I'm not too keen on staff playing in tourneys, because it could be viewed as a moneymaking scam...run a tournament, take up the money, all staff plays, and staff winner splits the money amongst his staff friends. The staff is in the arcade every day, and gets major practice, providing what may be an unfair advantage. But that argument has been tried over and over, and constantly fails, sadly. Oh well. So far, I was miffed from losing, but I didn't give up. It was double-elimination, and I had a chance in the loser's bracket.
So I went to the losers bracket. After another long, sweaty wait, I was called for my match, and I walked up to the ugly machine. I was up against the largest member of the cholos in presence. He proceeded to shittalk me...in tournament vernacular, that means trying to say things to make me lose...derogatory things. I picked my first team, and lost by a narrow margin, with his friends murmuring behind me. By the second match, they were crowding closer and closer to me (not him at all). I picked a very...cheap team. And I won very cheaply. Halfway through the match, his whole group began to shittalk me right in my ear. I looked back for help from the tournament manager, my face coming to meet nose-to-nose with one of the cholos, who slightly stepped to the side to allow me to see past. The manager noticed me, and looked away. I figured I was on my own. Looking back, I should have walked up to him, away from the machine, and complained. But I took my team for the final match, and played once more. When they saw me winning, they realized words would not be enough. During a critical point in the match, my butt was pinched (hehe, I see readers laughing), and the small of my back/kidneys were alternately poked. I flubbed some moves in shock (I don't like having my personal space invaded), and lost the match. The shittalking at the end was particularly vicious...words like:
"FUCK that cheap bitch UP! *raucous laughter* Yeah, fuck that shit. Little fuckin' white boy gettin' his ass owned HAHAH"
Perhaps this was one of the circumstances that convinced me to train in various martial arts...without the knowledge I have now, I would have been defenseless if the situation had escalated beyond words and simple poking. I was VERY on edge after that match...literally shaking after being poked and prodded like that.
I finished my round, and used my last ounce of calm to shakingly stagger from the machine and look up at the tournament staff watching my game...he gave me a hopeless, "I can't help you" look as I left the arcade.
I was still shaking in anger, shock, dismay, and helplessness almost the entire way home. It was one of the most unpleasant experiences of my life up to now.
Well, that's the story. I know that tournaments can suck for one person alone...I hope we can put this all behind us.
- The Black Knight
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2000
- Posts
- 6,295
Well said BlackKnight. I knew that some people might have backed out like myself but I never EXPECTED THAT many people to.
I have to agree on this issue, You shouldn't blame the tourny owners for misleading anything. The fact they still ran it with such a poor ass turnout amazed me enough as it is.
I did talk to one of my friend's about the garou and now I know I could have possibly won. Well my loss but I give credit where credit is due. Awesome game of Garou to whoever won it. Look foward to playing you sometime. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
I have to agree on this issue, You shouldn't blame the tourny owners for misleading anything. The fact they still ran it with such a poor ass turnout amazed me enough as it is.
I did talk to one of my friend's about the garou and now I know I could have possibly won. Well my loss but I give credit where credit is due. Awesome game of Garou to whoever won it. Look foward to playing you sometime. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
The Black Knight
Cheng's Errand Boy
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Posts
- 120
Took about a breath and a half, actually. I'm training hard to do it in one, for this year's Bulletin Board Olympics in Yokosuka, Japan. I'm thinking of entering the 100 and the 50 Paragraph Post, and maybe the Triathelon. But then I might injure myself...:P
- The Black Knight
- The Black Knight
- Joined
- May 20, 2001
- Posts
- 897
Cingratulations you orange haired scam artist. You made your tournament look like an important event when it was actually just a bunch of local arcade people, numbering no more than 10 to be exact. It was a pathetic joke. I don't like to hear all this stuff about all kinds of people signing up for the tournament because as far as I'm concerned you made up the names of all the individuals who you said were going to be in the tournament and probably registered multiple times to make people think that there were really a lot of people going to the tournament. Good job on scamming Shawn out of his money. $100 for what, beating about 3 other people. And the RB 2 tournament had only 2 people and 1 match was fought. And for this the person gets what, $100 or whatever the amount is. TO EVERYBODY, THE TOURNAMENT WAS A SCAM!!!!!
chainsawyak
Raiden's Valet
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2000
- Posts
- 1,117
Are they still going to sell that Video CD of the tournament? It sounds like it would be funny... <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> I feel sorry for all those who travelled so far. I've probably had bigger tournaments held in my basement...
I probably would have gone if I lived closer to Texas, but from the way people make it sound I probably would have left myself. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
I probably would have gone if I lived closer to Texas, but from the way people make it sound I probably would have left myself. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
No personal offense is intended to anyone,especially the green haired jackass.You probably be offened but my intentions are to warn people of any upcoming tournys hosted by you.
Ok, my girlfriend posted this topic for me by phone thats why that last post was in caps,sorry about that.
If autobot didint have enough games why didnt he ask me to bring mine?I have kof2000,motw,lb2,samsho4,metalslug...All he had to do was ask.But instead he said he had everything under control.
Ok,I specifecally remember him saying on a post that "he had hosted tournements before"and had plenty of experence and was "professional".
Ok,where you there?Iwas..and the tournememt started after noon,not at 11.but thats really apples and oranges.
If you had flown out here to a tourny and taken out time from your life to be extremely dissappointed.I think you might feel different.Its like this,I am not a student who lives at home with mommie and daddie,I am a professional artist and own my own business.Therefor I have high standards of how shit is run.And supposedly autobot is the owner of animation town.
I apologize for upseting anyone with my rants!They are opinons and I am intittled to that.
I dont take any offense from your rant.You dont know me you dont know what I do.
I just want anyone who thinks that theres going to be a tournement to be able to learn from my mistake and investigate the circumstances better than I did.
The comment about the machines,that was because autobot said"come to the tournement and celebrate the neo in all its glory!",By giving it play on two cabs?And I saw another neo mother board just sitting on his counter collecting dust.I wondered why this board was not in operation for the neo tourny,but two dragonball z machines were.I didnt go there to see dragon ball z on a neo candy cab.I am pretty sure that no one else did either.
I am over it.Well maybe not yet.But it sure helps to "let it all out" and put it on the table.
I thought about going back and expressing my feelings in the flesh but I was to angry to return and did not want to be further outraged I thought letting off some steam would be best!
This is my last rant for this post.Why would someone with common sense have a tourny the same day as another tourny?That is bound for trouble.Also I would like to know the extent of autos promotional attempts!The store had no banners,no flyers,no buliten boards.I would like to know how this was promoted?After leaving I saw a few of the cities arcades and game stores,they knew nothing of this tourny.
I hope auto has another tourny and learns from the past ones flaws.
Also if autobot is man enough to refund my entry fees it would be appreciated.Not because I need $10,but because it would show that he cared.Somthing I thought he did not show at his tourny.
I dont wanna fight,unless its a neo game,I meet some really cool people,and one not so nice.
Im sure you were one of the nice ones and I mean you no offense!
thank you for your response.
Ok, my girlfriend posted this topic for me by phone thats why that last post was in caps,sorry about that.
If autobot didint have enough games why didnt he ask me to bring mine?I have kof2000,motw,lb2,samsho4,metalslug...All he had to do was ask.But instead he said he had everything under control.
Ok,I specifecally remember him saying on a post that "he had hosted tournements before"and had plenty of experence and was "professional".
Ok,where you there?Iwas..and the tournememt started after noon,not at 11.but thats really apples and oranges.
If you had flown out here to a tourny and taken out time from your life to be extremely dissappointed.I think you might feel different.Its like this,I am not a student who lives at home with mommie and daddie,I am a professional artist and own my own business.Therefor I have high standards of how shit is run.And supposedly autobot is the owner of animation town.
I apologize for upseting anyone with my rants!They are opinons and I am intittled to that.
I dont take any offense from your rant.You dont know me you dont know what I do.
I just want anyone who thinks that theres going to be a tournement to be able to learn from my mistake and investigate the circumstances better than I did.
The comment about the machines,that was because autobot said"come to the tournement and celebrate the neo in all its glory!",By giving it play on two cabs?And I saw another neo mother board just sitting on his counter collecting dust.I wondered why this board was not in operation for the neo tourny,but two dragonball z machines were.I didnt go there to see dragon ball z on a neo candy cab.I am pretty sure that no one else did either.
I am over it.Well maybe not yet.But it sure helps to "let it all out" and put it on the table.
I thought about going back and expressing my feelings in the flesh but I was to angry to return and did not want to be further outraged I thought letting off some steam would be best!
This is my last rant for this post.Why would someone with common sense have a tourny the same day as another tourny?That is bound for trouble.Also I would like to know the extent of autos promotional attempts!The store had no banners,no flyers,no buliten boards.I would like to know how this was promoted?After leaving I saw a few of the cities arcades and game stores,they knew nothing of this tourny.
I hope auto has another tourny and learns from the past ones flaws.
Also if autobot is man enough to refund my entry fees it would be appreciated.Not because I need $10,but because it would show that he cared.Somthing I thought he did not show at his tourny.
I dont wanna fight,unless its a neo game,I meet some really cool people,and one not so nice.
Im sure you were one of the nice ones and I mean you no offense!
thank you for your response.
- Joined
- Jan 5, 2001
- Posts
- 18,070
10??? The machines werent on free play? darn...
If I ever have a tourney guys you can count on it being all freeplay.
If I pay a 10 admission I at least want the damn machines to be on freeplay, maybe I should have investidated this further.. strange, could you explain more?
I talked to autobot in chat he seems like a kick ass fellow. Sad things had to be this way.
[ June 17, 2001: Message edited by: Lord Wolfgang Krauser ]
If I ever have a tourney guys you can count on it being all freeplay.
If I pay a 10 admission I at least want the damn machines to be on freeplay, maybe I should have investidated this further.. strange, could you explain more?
I talked to autobot in chat he seems like a kick ass fellow. Sad things had to be this way.
[ June 17, 2001: Message edited by: Lord Wolfgang Krauser ]
There were a few reasons this tournament did NOT work:
1) NO ONE SHOWED UP!! if theres gonna be a torunament, you people that say you are going to be there need to be there. I worked on the tournament, and we seriusly had SOOO many people Pre-Pay and not show up. thats why the payouts for the winners were so large! The winner of KOF 2000 got $80 cash for playing 2 people! <this is in addition to the shirts that i gave away, and the certificates shawn gave away.>
2) Roger only had 2 machines with MVS in them. One was on freeplay, with switch #7 toggled, and he gave 99 free credits to the other machine. Yes, that was my 4 slot in the corner gathering dust. he asked me to bring it, along with 3 games he didnt have, and then never hooked it up. He also had a 6-slot that he had received that morning.... why were these not hooked up instead of those damn Dragonball Z games?? i dont have a clue... i bugged him about it the WHOLE torurnament..
3) The cabinets were arranged poorly, so that there was so much congestion in the store.. just placed in the wrong places.. I tried to make things better by GIVING away my shirts that i had made... this came out of my pocket, and i had nothing to gain from this competition. oh, and roger made NO money off of this either. this was NOT a money-making scam. No one associated with the store won anything. This was a learning experience. Next time it will be better. _I_ will make sure of that.
more later.. i have somewhere to be now..
=R=
1) NO ONE SHOWED UP!! if theres gonna be a torunament, you people that say you are going to be there need to be there. I worked on the tournament, and we seriusly had SOOO many people Pre-Pay and not show up. thats why the payouts for the winners were so large! The winner of KOF 2000 got $80 cash for playing 2 people! <this is in addition to the shirts that i gave away, and the certificates shawn gave away.>
2) Roger only had 2 machines with MVS in them. One was on freeplay, with switch #7 toggled, and he gave 99 free credits to the other machine. Yes, that was my 4 slot in the corner gathering dust. he asked me to bring it, along with 3 games he didnt have, and then never hooked it up. He also had a 6-slot that he had received that morning.... why were these not hooked up instead of those damn Dragonball Z games?? i dont have a clue... i bugged him about it the WHOLE torurnament..
3) The cabinets were arranged poorly, so that there was so much congestion in the store.. just placed in the wrong places.. I tried to make things better by GIVING away my shirts that i had made... this came out of my pocket, and i had nothing to gain from this competition. oh, and roger made NO money off of this either. this was NOT a money-making scam. No one associated with the store won anything. This was a learning experience. Next time it will be better. _I_ will make sure of that.
more later.. i have somewhere to be now..
=R=
The machines were not on free play.I showed up the night before,no free play.I showed up for the tourny no free play practice session.I was there I paid a quarter a play each time I played.I was expecting to pay to play in the tourny as well...but luckily I left and salvaged my day.
Rancor,wheres my shirt?
If it was my tourny,that people flew to to attend,I would have tourned the machines on free play.
I hope autobot takes time out of his busy day to post.I would like to see what he has to say for himself.
So you took your mother board and he had another in the back!And he did not hook them up?...Does this guy give a fuck?
Thats it I guess I feel like auto just diddnt give a fuck.And thats a sad thing to invite people from across the globe and then not care one way or another.
I request a refund or conpensation of some sort.Do you think this request is just?Put yourself in my shoes.
Im just glad I didnt drive in the hot ass summer sun.
Rancor,wheres my shirt?
If it was my tourny,that people flew to to attend,I would have tourned the machines on free play.
I hope autobot takes time out of his busy day to post.I would like to see what he has to say for himself.
So you took your mother board and he had another in the back!And he did not hook them up?...Does this guy give a fuck?
Thats it I guess I feel like auto just diddnt give a fuck.And thats a sad thing to invite people from across the globe and then not care one way or another.
I request a refund or conpensation of some sort.Do you think this request is just?Put yourself in my shoes.
Im just glad I didnt drive in the hot ass summer sun.
- Joined
- May 20, 2001
- Posts
- 897
I guess what I am trying to say is that if people say they are going to come Roger and Marco should do a good job or investigation to see if these people were really legit. If people just say they are going, do not take their word for it. You should be more inquisitive. People would have a more likelihood of showing up if they gave a flight number, a date of arrival, and maybe even a hotel name or address. If people just say they are going to be there then they are more likely than not not serious about it. Even if they pre-pay or something, it seemed as if so many people were going especially since there were 7 PAGES about it on the Texas Tourney topic. Roger kept writing down all the people that pre-registered or said they were going which made it seemed like the entire universe was going to attend. It was just not how I imagined it to be that's all when I was there.
- Joined
- Aug 18, 2000
- Posts
- 1,539
well I had planed on attending as well. Just when I was packing up my stuff to bring friday night though One of my friends called and ask if I could help cleanup and haul some stuff from his parents house that got flooded last weekend. He has help me out in tough jams So it was only right for me to help him out.
So as it turned out things did not work out all around. bad timing I guess and the flyers could have used some work <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> Anyway sorry it was such a bust for most, I had thought it was going to be at an hotel. Oh well I am still up for holding a tourney at Akon like the one BonusKun had this year. After all if people do not show up there is always stuff to do.
I realize though not everyone into the neo is into Anime, except maybe neo anime.
So as it turned out things did not work out all around. bad timing I guess and the flyers could have used some work <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0"> Anyway sorry it was such a bust for most, I had thought it was going to be at an hotel. Oh well I am still up for holding a tourney at Akon like the one BonusKun had this year. After all if people do not show up there is always stuff to do.
I realize though not everyone into the neo is into Anime, except maybe neo anime.
The Black Knight
Cheng's Errand Boy
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Posts
- 120
I'm glad things finally seem to be calming down...
First of all, to Lord Wolfie...
I like your writing style. Don't know why just yet, but it has an intelligent flair to it. To answer your question, the machines were on free play during the tournament, and one of them had numerous free credits before the tournament, with the credit switch open for people to push. Last Blade 2 wasn't free-played until the tourney, which I did think was wrong. I'm agreeing with the negativity on that point. I think every tournament-pertinent game should have been on free-play. I've been to tourneys were you pay for EVERYTHING...even to play in the tourney. I'm talking $15 entry, and 50 cents a game. It makes me sick.
naomi, Rancor, everyone...this is the way I see it.
The tourney could have been prepared a bit better. It was the first time, and some excuses can be made, but I'm with you on setting up the other six slot. And I think cabs should have been moved around for a tournament layout, and the store perhaps roped off for tournament only, with signs posted that the tournament was that day, and that no customers would be allowed. That's what I would have done. But with the situation the way it was that day, I suppose them being open didn't hurt, because...
...no one showed up. And guys, I don't think this is because the tourney was some hoax. About six people entered KOF2k. That's 30 dollars. The prize was $75. That's $45 of no-shows, PROVEN by the cash prize money. 7 people right there, already. And more said they would go that DIDN'T send money...hell, I'm surprised people did send money before the tourney. If you look at that tournament post, you can see tons promising to be there. They lied. The players shape a tournament...if no one shows up, there's not a lot staff can do.
I can see how one might be frustrated by a two-person RB2 tournament. I should have entered...I like RB2, but I suck at it. Maybe I'll make it my next Neo cart, unless Shawn wants to give me that Metal Slug import for, say...300 dollars! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
FIGHT THE INFLATION! 10,000 Yen is a RIPOFF!
Or something. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
Er, anyway...as I was saying, having 2 people competing sucked, but at least the AT staff went through with it. Like a few have said...you have to give them SOME respect for giving it a go, regardless of who showed up.
I'd like to say something to everyone about this that I think is important. This tournament didn't work out how ANYONE wanted it to. Not for Animation Town staff (hell, I wanted a VCD), not for players, not for people that had to walk out, and especially not for people that signed up and didn't show up, who were the largest part of the problem. I attribute 25% of the problem to this being Animation Town's first tourney, and to their mistakes...75% goes to people not showing up! Like I said, I have been to nastier, skankier tourneys, with one busted machine and shifty arcade owners the likes of which you don't want to see. The turnout? Over 30 people. The result? A pretty damned good tourney. With that strength in players, things came out all right. But I don't think we'd be here having problems with this tourney if everyone that said they would show up showed up.
If I lived far from the tourney, or if I needed to fly down, I would have done it. And if I had flown, I think I would have had a good time. I wouldn't have regretted it wholly, but I can see how those of you that flew had a lot more riding on it. But don't blame Animation Town so much. Start blaming those that didn't show up for no good reason...the board junkies that said, "OH, OH, I'LL BE THERE WITH BELLS ON," and sat home on Saturday mumbling, "Ah, I woulda won anyway...it probably sucked."
It DID suck (somewhat, I'll be mild), because THEY didn't show.
To the folks at Animation Town, and anyone else thinking of running a tourney: DON'T GIVE UP, DAMN IT. 9 times out of 10, everyone's first try falls flat. Raise your hand if you fell down the first time you tried riding a bike. Raise your hand if it took you NUMEROUS tries to get off a Deadly Rave in ANY Garou game. Raise your hand if you have made a STUPID game purchase before you knew what was good and bad.
I'm sure you all raised your hands...you better have, or else you're probably lying. Or else you don't play videogames, don't ride a bike, and have never touched Geese/Rock Howard in a Neo game...on this board, I doubt there's many of THOSE people. > <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">
Things don't work on the first try. I think we need to cut EVERYONE some slack. I'm sure everyone's sorry people flew in for a tourney that didn't go so well. I'm sure the tourney staff are sorry their tourney wasn't what they had dreamed. And I'm sure the players who won probably feel a little cheapened that they didn't get a chance to TRULY compete against all these players that were supposed to show up.
Everyone feels cheated.
It reminds me of the end of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"
"But we won again."
"No..."
"We lost... *camera pans back to show the graves of comrades who died defending the village*"
"We lost."
Even though a victory was won, we lost a lot in the process. But just like the heroes in that movie, we all need to move on, and NOT give up on Neo-Geo tournaments. Even though some of us lost money on plane tickets. Even though some of us flew down and lost, when more players and better layout would have allowed for warmup and more chances to succeed.
Someone, maybe even Animation Town, needs to try this again. Here's my recipe for success:
Double Elimination - No matter how many show up, at least people don't feel cheated with few-game tourneys. Use a computerized bracket if possible.
Best two out of three games - This was done in KOF2k, where it is ESPECIALLY important, due to runs with strikers that are hard to recover from. In other games it should happen too...Power characters can win lucky rounds, and speed characters can land that large crippling combo in Last Blade 2, but you wont know who has the true skill or who got lucky if it's just one game. Mark of the Wolves can be one game of doom with Griffon in T.O.P., but in a subsequent game he can be pressured into guard breaks and slow death once his T.O.P. meter is out of the way. People will feel cheated with less games. Set aside the time and do it right.
Tournament layout - Make things look professional. Rope off the cabinets. Only have your tourney cabs running. Use JAPANESE sit down cabinets, THAT was good this time. Since the Neo tournament scene is fledgeling, WE need to establish the standards. I say we make things look civilized and adult--sit-down cabs, maybe even a VS cabinet (two screens, player on each side). The start time is CONCRETE. Be there or you aren't counted. That is established in the flyer, in BOLD letters. Punctuality is key. And free play those cabinets for practice as a gesture of goodwill. A day's quarters wont kill you.
Fighting games by wins, other games by points ONLY - I know three people personally that can run through Metal Slug on a credit, EASY. I know one of them could probably do it without a C button, although he'd need jump. This guy also goes through on a single life sometimes. If you're going to have more than one person who can do that, you have a tie, and that's silly. Do it by points. Metal Slug is built for points. If you miss secret hostages, and someone else gets them...if you don't risk ducking the electric gates in stage 2...you are screwed in the points dept.
Limit player entry to a round 32 or 64 players, and have an overflow signup for no-shows on a first-come, first-serve basis: This isn't new, but it's coming back in style, and it works GREAT. It's an even bracket, there's no byes, and it gives incentive for people to get off their ass, sign up, and show up, lest they be exchanged permanently for an overflow player. And if you get 48 or more in the overflow, add another 32 players to the bracket. Don't pass 64 though...then things get insane.
Alternate KOF2k/KOF99 each tourney - KOF99 has more emphasis on characters, whereas victory in 2k is determined almost 100% by striker use. If you can run both games, it satisfies KOF and non-KOF fans far more, from what I have seen. 99 can be subbed for 98, perhaps. No Kriz or O. Rugal.
DO have Metal Slug X/TS Sprites/Strikers 1945 for points - These tourneys run remarkably quick, and a non-fighting game tourney is highly refreshing. Run them during the warmup for the fighting game tourneys.
DO have Magical Drop 3 - You want to eliminate no-shows? People come out of the woodwork for this game...men AND women. Be prepared to do crowd control. Run this tourney in the middle of the fighting game tourney lineup. Like an intermission. And the matches are nicely timed, so things go quickly...especially when a good player is stomping the opposition. No bosses/secret chars allowed, though.
MAYBE run Waku Waku 7 - Joke fighters are generally flaky, but I think this should have happened when it didn't this time.
Only run one game of one series - Pick Metal Slug X or Metal Slug...Blazing Star or Pulstar...Strikers 1945...or...did that have a prequel? I forget. ^^; But this goes for fighters too, sadly. I dearly love Real Bout, but running two Garou games is a difficult undertaking...and I think that ever-so-slightly contributed to Real Bout 2 having no turnout. You have to change gears so much to play that game. And also, try not to jam all the games on one day. So an ideal tourney setup would be:
KOF99
Mark of the Wolves
Waku Waku 7
Magical Drop 3
Metal Slug 3
Strikers 1945
Now, that could be for one day, and the next day could be:
KOF2k
Last Blade 2
Real Bout 2
Metal Slug
Blazing Star
Offer a prize that's not just a percentage of the pot - This is important, and with the store credit, it was done to an extent. But if there's low turnout, don't have someone leave with just their entree fee + change...get an Athena figurine...KOF98DM for DC...something of moderate value, and add that in, just in case the cash can't hold water.
Plan, dedicate an area, advertise well and lace those ads with facts - This is where Animation Town would need to work the most, and I think they could do well...they have good staff. The ads need to have cold, hard facts--the exact time of the tourney, the games involved, the number of players the tourney will be maximum, the rules, and more. Leave NOTHING to the last minute.
I'd like to say one more time...use Japanese cabinets. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> Sitting down a tourney relaxes everyone anyway, and it seems to do wonders for keeping the audience away from the playing area.
Incidentally, I asked once why B5 could have Japanese cabinets once (B5 - big East Coast Capcom tourney). My answer? "Too expensive." Last I checked, Japanese cabinets were cheaper than US ones, or at least on par, price-wise. DEFINITELY within B5's price range. And they are even bringing in some for the Japanese players coming in this year. They should just go all the way. If they want to use US sticks, fine. But standing up SUCKS at a tourney.
Sorry, little rant there.
Anyway, that's what I think would make a great tourney. And I'll tell you right now...A-Kon isn't going to have that. Animation Town could take notes, and maybe go crazy next year with a massive tourney. I overheard they were expanding soon anyway, with many more cabinets...that would mean plenty of MVSs, plenty of setups, and this whole thing would be feasible. Or maybe there's a secret contender in the running...I know there's some SNK nuts in...Austin...
In closing, I hope we can all go to a US SNK tournament someday that's so big and wonderful that the SNK fans around the world take notice. Let's not give up...instead, let's work toward that. We've already had a tournament that didn't work so well...the sign of an undertaking being started. The next one is bound to be better. Let's show those shoryuken.com people how to run a tournament, SNK-style.
See you there.
- The Black Knight
First of all, to Lord Wolfie...
I like your writing style. Don't know why just yet, but it has an intelligent flair to it. To answer your question, the machines were on free play during the tournament, and one of them had numerous free credits before the tournament, with the credit switch open for people to push. Last Blade 2 wasn't free-played until the tourney, which I did think was wrong. I'm agreeing with the negativity on that point. I think every tournament-pertinent game should have been on free-play. I've been to tourneys were you pay for EVERYTHING...even to play in the tourney. I'm talking $15 entry, and 50 cents a game. It makes me sick.
naomi, Rancor, everyone...this is the way I see it.
The tourney could have been prepared a bit better. It was the first time, and some excuses can be made, but I'm with you on setting up the other six slot. And I think cabs should have been moved around for a tournament layout, and the store perhaps roped off for tournament only, with signs posted that the tournament was that day, and that no customers would be allowed. That's what I would have done. But with the situation the way it was that day, I suppose them being open didn't hurt, because...
...no one showed up. And guys, I don't think this is because the tourney was some hoax. About six people entered KOF2k. That's 30 dollars. The prize was $75. That's $45 of no-shows, PROVEN by the cash prize money. 7 people right there, already. And more said they would go that DIDN'T send money...hell, I'm surprised people did send money before the tourney. If you look at that tournament post, you can see tons promising to be there. They lied. The players shape a tournament...if no one shows up, there's not a lot staff can do.
I can see how one might be frustrated by a two-person RB2 tournament. I should have entered...I like RB2, but I suck at it. Maybe I'll make it my next Neo cart, unless Shawn wants to give me that Metal Slug import for, say...300 dollars! <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
FIGHT THE INFLATION! 10,000 Yen is a RIPOFF!
Or something. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">
Er, anyway...as I was saying, having 2 people competing sucked, but at least the AT staff went through with it. Like a few have said...you have to give them SOME respect for giving it a go, regardless of who showed up.
I'd like to say something to everyone about this that I think is important. This tournament didn't work out how ANYONE wanted it to. Not for Animation Town staff (hell, I wanted a VCD), not for players, not for people that had to walk out, and especially not for people that signed up and didn't show up, who were the largest part of the problem. I attribute 25% of the problem to this being Animation Town's first tourney, and to their mistakes...75% goes to people not showing up! Like I said, I have been to nastier, skankier tourneys, with one busted machine and shifty arcade owners the likes of which you don't want to see. The turnout? Over 30 people. The result? A pretty damned good tourney. With that strength in players, things came out all right. But I don't think we'd be here having problems with this tourney if everyone that said they would show up showed up.
If I lived far from the tourney, or if I needed to fly down, I would have done it. And if I had flown, I think I would have had a good time. I wouldn't have regretted it wholly, but I can see how those of you that flew had a lot more riding on it. But don't blame Animation Town so much. Start blaming those that didn't show up for no good reason...the board junkies that said, "OH, OH, I'LL BE THERE WITH BELLS ON," and sat home on Saturday mumbling, "Ah, I woulda won anyway...it probably sucked."
It DID suck (somewhat, I'll be mild), because THEY didn't show.
To the folks at Animation Town, and anyone else thinking of running a tourney: DON'T GIVE UP, DAMN IT. 9 times out of 10, everyone's first try falls flat. Raise your hand if you fell down the first time you tried riding a bike. Raise your hand if it took you NUMEROUS tries to get off a Deadly Rave in ANY Garou game. Raise your hand if you have made a STUPID game purchase before you knew what was good and bad.
I'm sure you all raised your hands...you better have, or else you're probably lying. Or else you don't play videogames, don't ride a bike, and have never touched Geese/Rock Howard in a Neo game...on this board, I doubt there's many of THOSE people. > <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">
Things don't work on the first try. I think we need to cut EVERYONE some slack. I'm sure everyone's sorry people flew in for a tourney that didn't go so well. I'm sure the tourney staff are sorry their tourney wasn't what they had dreamed. And I'm sure the players who won probably feel a little cheapened that they didn't get a chance to TRULY compete against all these players that were supposed to show up.
Everyone feels cheated.
It reminds me of the end of Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai"
"But we won again."
"No..."
"We lost... *camera pans back to show the graves of comrades who died defending the village*"
"We lost."
Even though a victory was won, we lost a lot in the process. But just like the heroes in that movie, we all need to move on, and NOT give up on Neo-Geo tournaments. Even though some of us lost money on plane tickets. Even though some of us flew down and lost, when more players and better layout would have allowed for warmup and more chances to succeed.
Someone, maybe even Animation Town, needs to try this again. Here's my recipe for success:
Double Elimination - No matter how many show up, at least people don't feel cheated with few-game tourneys. Use a computerized bracket if possible.
Best two out of three games - This was done in KOF2k, where it is ESPECIALLY important, due to runs with strikers that are hard to recover from. In other games it should happen too...Power characters can win lucky rounds, and speed characters can land that large crippling combo in Last Blade 2, but you wont know who has the true skill or who got lucky if it's just one game. Mark of the Wolves can be one game of doom with Griffon in T.O.P., but in a subsequent game he can be pressured into guard breaks and slow death once his T.O.P. meter is out of the way. People will feel cheated with less games. Set aside the time and do it right.
Tournament layout - Make things look professional. Rope off the cabinets. Only have your tourney cabs running. Use JAPANESE sit down cabinets, THAT was good this time. Since the Neo tournament scene is fledgeling, WE need to establish the standards. I say we make things look civilized and adult--sit-down cabs, maybe even a VS cabinet (two screens, player on each side). The start time is CONCRETE. Be there or you aren't counted. That is established in the flyer, in BOLD letters. Punctuality is key. And free play those cabinets for practice as a gesture of goodwill. A day's quarters wont kill you.
Fighting games by wins, other games by points ONLY - I know three people personally that can run through Metal Slug on a credit, EASY. I know one of them could probably do it without a C button, although he'd need jump. This guy also goes through on a single life sometimes. If you're going to have more than one person who can do that, you have a tie, and that's silly. Do it by points. Metal Slug is built for points. If you miss secret hostages, and someone else gets them...if you don't risk ducking the electric gates in stage 2...you are screwed in the points dept.
Limit player entry to a round 32 or 64 players, and have an overflow signup for no-shows on a first-come, first-serve basis: This isn't new, but it's coming back in style, and it works GREAT. It's an even bracket, there's no byes, and it gives incentive for people to get off their ass, sign up, and show up, lest they be exchanged permanently for an overflow player. And if you get 48 or more in the overflow, add another 32 players to the bracket. Don't pass 64 though...then things get insane.
Alternate KOF2k/KOF99 each tourney - KOF99 has more emphasis on characters, whereas victory in 2k is determined almost 100% by striker use. If you can run both games, it satisfies KOF and non-KOF fans far more, from what I have seen. 99 can be subbed for 98, perhaps. No Kriz or O. Rugal.
DO have Metal Slug X/TS Sprites/Strikers 1945 for points - These tourneys run remarkably quick, and a non-fighting game tourney is highly refreshing. Run them during the warmup for the fighting game tourneys.
DO have Magical Drop 3 - You want to eliminate no-shows? People come out of the woodwork for this game...men AND women. Be prepared to do crowd control. Run this tourney in the middle of the fighting game tourney lineup. Like an intermission. And the matches are nicely timed, so things go quickly...especially when a good player is stomping the opposition. No bosses/secret chars allowed, though.
MAYBE run Waku Waku 7 - Joke fighters are generally flaky, but I think this should have happened when it didn't this time.
Only run one game of one series - Pick Metal Slug X or Metal Slug...Blazing Star or Pulstar...Strikers 1945...or...did that have a prequel? I forget. ^^; But this goes for fighters too, sadly. I dearly love Real Bout, but running two Garou games is a difficult undertaking...and I think that ever-so-slightly contributed to Real Bout 2 having no turnout. You have to change gears so much to play that game. And also, try not to jam all the games on one day. So an ideal tourney setup would be:
KOF99
Mark of the Wolves
Waku Waku 7
Magical Drop 3
Metal Slug 3
Strikers 1945
Now, that could be for one day, and the next day could be:
KOF2k
Last Blade 2
Real Bout 2
Metal Slug
Blazing Star
Offer a prize that's not just a percentage of the pot - This is important, and with the store credit, it was done to an extent. But if there's low turnout, don't have someone leave with just their entree fee + change...get an Athena figurine...KOF98DM for DC...something of moderate value, and add that in, just in case the cash can't hold water.
Plan, dedicate an area, advertise well and lace those ads with facts - This is where Animation Town would need to work the most, and I think they could do well...they have good staff. The ads need to have cold, hard facts--the exact time of the tourney, the games involved, the number of players the tourney will be maximum, the rules, and more. Leave NOTHING to the last minute.
I'd like to say one more time...use Japanese cabinets. <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0"> Sitting down a tourney relaxes everyone anyway, and it seems to do wonders for keeping the audience away from the playing area.
Incidentally, I asked once why B5 could have Japanese cabinets once (B5 - big East Coast Capcom tourney). My answer? "Too expensive." Last I checked, Japanese cabinets were cheaper than US ones, or at least on par, price-wise. DEFINITELY within B5's price range. And they are even bringing in some for the Japanese players coming in this year. They should just go all the way. If they want to use US sticks, fine. But standing up SUCKS at a tourney.
Sorry, little rant there.
Anyway, that's what I think would make a great tourney. And I'll tell you right now...A-Kon isn't going to have that. Animation Town could take notes, and maybe go crazy next year with a massive tourney. I overheard they were expanding soon anyway, with many more cabinets...that would mean plenty of MVSs, plenty of setups, and this whole thing would be feasible. Or maybe there's a secret contender in the running...I know there's some SNK nuts in...Austin...
In closing, I hope we can all go to a US SNK tournament someday that's so big and wonderful that the SNK fans around the world take notice. Let's not give up...instead, let's work toward that. We've already had a tournament that didn't work so well...the sign of an undertaking being started. The next one is bound to be better. Let's show those shoryuken.com people how to run a tournament, SNK-style.
See you there.
- The Black Knight
PrOzErG
Sacrifice is pleasure, , ,
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2001
- Posts
- 1,553
In another tread autobot clown said this->
TOURNY DID NOT GO THAT GREAT THANKS TO SHAWN AND THE GUYS WHO FLY IN AND TO KENSU FROM FRANCE I AM RETIRING OF THE BOARD THANKS TO EVERY ONE WHO TRIED I WILL CONTINUE TO GET THE NEWEST NEO GAMES AT ARCADE SEE YA AROUND CLOWNS
TOURNY DID NOT GO THAT GREAT THANKS TO SHAWN AND THE GUYS WHO FLY IN AND TO KENSU FROM FRANCE I AM RETIRING OF THE BOARD THANKS TO EVERY ONE WHO TRIED I WILL CONTINUE TO GET THE NEWEST NEO GAMES AT ARCADE SEE YA AROUND CLOWNS
autobotclown
Kula's Candy
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2001
- Posts
- 308
look this is the last time im going to post.
I did every thing i could for the tourny.I pick up naomi and andrew from the airport to their hotel my bud drove them to where they wanted to eat and back to the store. also we drove them back that night.on sat they where there and just left with out saying nothing.Im sorry that no one showed but i cant personaly go tell every little neo geo player to wake up brush their teeth hold their hand and walk them to the tourny. as far as the machines go i cant take out the jamma games on the dbz machines because due to the oldnest of the games you have to lay the boards just right to get them to play properly.I also had sengoku 3 rushed to be there for the tourny.we even had a guy show up the night before to pratice that didnt show up sat.How can it be a scam when even if a billion people show up i make no money.the pize was not a pecent of the entrees it was for all the entry fees.If the tourny cost $5 for every player who entered the pot would go up $5.I would get no money. as far as moving the machines i cant i run a busniness and must keep running it.all the neo games are 25 cents to play including new games like sen goku 3.hay naomi thanks for calling me a jackass i thought you were pretty cool when i picked you up from the airport.like i said before i cant spoon feed every player to go.there is no vcd because who wants to spend 12 dollars for five people playing a game.all i know when we had a mvc2 tourny lots showed up.as far as the french guy goes he loved the tourny(god only knows why).he has been here all weekend playing games played kof2000 for 6 hours straight yesterday.i beat him 3 times.he beat me in the billions.he asked me when im going to have the next one.i laughted but he was serious.just like when rancor made the neo shirts every one said they would buy one and he still stuck with a shit load.and moving machines and adding neo arnt going to make people pop up from the ground.i am sorry for it not being good. Im tried it and it did not work.I gave it a go and that is all i can do. Im not doing any more.we and the other clowns have fun every sat and every couple a weeks we grow.like i said before i will get the newest neo games all games 25cents.if any one else wants to trow a tourny and use my cabs that fine but im not going to throw everthing up side down for it.i made freinds here so see ya around and now the frence guys going to go with us to akon next year.for the people that did not show up i punch you in the anus. naomi im sorry that you are made but i punch you in the anus to for being a bitch.but at least you showed up so that makes you 10 times better then the others how dind not. i would rather have a bitch ass dickless baby show up then no one.clowns rule i give up.
I did every thing i could for the tourny.I pick up naomi and andrew from the airport to their hotel my bud drove them to where they wanted to eat and back to the store. also we drove them back that night.on sat they where there and just left with out saying nothing.Im sorry that no one showed but i cant personaly go tell every little neo geo player to wake up brush their teeth hold their hand and walk them to the tourny. as far as the machines go i cant take out the jamma games on the dbz machines because due to the oldnest of the games you have to lay the boards just right to get them to play properly.I also had sengoku 3 rushed to be there for the tourny.we even had a guy show up the night before to pratice that didnt show up sat.How can it be a scam when even if a billion people show up i make no money.the pize was not a pecent of the entrees it was for all the entry fees.If the tourny cost $5 for every player who entered the pot would go up $5.I would get no money. as far as moving the machines i cant i run a busniness and must keep running it.all the neo games are 25 cents to play including new games like sen goku 3.hay naomi thanks for calling me a jackass i thought you were pretty cool when i picked you up from the airport.like i said before i cant spoon feed every player to go.there is no vcd because who wants to spend 12 dollars for five people playing a game.all i know when we had a mvc2 tourny lots showed up.as far as the french guy goes he loved the tourny(god only knows why).he has been here all weekend playing games played kof2000 for 6 hours straight yesterday.i beat him 3 times.he beat me in the billions.he asked me when im going to have the next one.i laughted but he was serious.just like when rancor made the neo shirts every one said they would buy one and he still stuck with a shit load.and moving machines and adding neo arnt going to make people pop up from the ground.i am sorry for it not being good. Im tried it and it did not work.I gave it a go and that is all i can do. Im not doing any more.we and the other clowns have fun every sat and every couple a weeks we grow.like i said before i will get the newest neo games all games 25cents.if any one else wants to trow a tourny and use my cabs that fine but im not going to throw everthing up side down for it.i made freinds here so see ya around and now the frence guys going to go with us to akon next year.for the people that did not show up i punch you in the anus. naomi im sorry that you are made but i punch you in the anus to for being a bitch.but at least you showed up so that makes you 10 times better then the others how dind not. i would rather have a bitch ass dickless baby show up then no one.clowns rule i give up.
Ok,the jackass comment was uncalled for I did'nt mean for it to be taken personally!Your a nice person.I was just pissed,sorry.
But about the machines being on free play,I was there why was I not told?Sure I saw the cover off the machine and I dont know about you but I dont just stick my hand in someoneelses machine!without permission.I would be pissed if I say some guy reaching in my machine and pressing buttons.So why was it hush hush?Why did you not make a public announcement that the games were on free play?I dont care about quarters,its not about money its about principles.
Why was autobot an asshole the day of the tournement?I asked him where did you get these mini candy cabs from?His reply"From the same guy as my others",ok thanks I know that guy!What the fuck,I was being freindly and you basically tell me to fuck off.
Autobot if you came to albuquerque for a touny that I hosted,and it wasnt what it was advertised to be,I would hope that you would let me know you were pissed!
So you are basically saying that it would be to much trouble to change out the boards for the tourny?,Well it was to much trouble for me to fly out and make accomindations,but I did it!
I must say weather it matters or not,I appreciated you being there to pick me up,and transporting me back and forth from the hotel.
Im sorry autobot if I have offened you with this ranting that has occered.
But about the machines being on free play,I was there why was I not told?Sure I saw the cover off the machine and I dont know about you but I dont just stick my hand in someoneelses machine!without permission.I would be pissed if I say some guy reaching in my machine and pressing buttons.So why was it hush hush?Why did you not make a public announcement that the games were on free play?I dont care about quarters,its not about money its about principles.
Why was autobot an asshole the day of the tournement?I asked him where did you get these mini candy cabs from?His reply"From the same guy as my others",ok thanks I know that guy!What the fuck,I was being freindly and you basically tell me to fuck off.
Autobot if you came to albuquerque for a touny that I hosted,and it wasnt what it was advertised to be,I would hope that you would let me know you were pissed!
So you are basically saying that it would be to much trouble to change out the boards for the tourny?,Well it was to much trouble for me to fly out and make accomindations,but I did it!
I must say weather it matters or not,I appreciated you being there to pick me up,and transporting me back and forth from the hotel.
Im sorry autobot if I have offened you with this ranting that has occered.