TOPIC: Suggestions for 2015

Incognito wrote:

Benjamin wrote: Noob here, my first TD was this year's (2014). I would like to vote for a Grind event on Wed. night - I was thinking of volunteering next year, so I would already be there. If everyone that volunteered wanted to Grind, you could just have volunteers switch out.

In the past (and in the present), I have expressed a willingness to run Grind events on Wednesday. However the main hurdle seems to be logistical or administrative.

It could be a GenCon issue regarding "ticketed events" on Wednesday. Or it could be a TD decision.

Ah. Didn't really think of that.

It's not a secret as to why there are not Wednesday events in the convention center proper.

Wednesday is considered a "set up" day. As such, you can set up, you can have badge pick up, and things like that; but you can't actually have events on that day in the convention center.

If you did, it would no longer be considered a set up day, but an event day. And the convention center charges Gen Con considerably more for rental of the ICC on an event day as opposed to a set up day. Gen Con would have to pay the higher rate on the whole convention center, including the TD area.

This is why the only Wednesday official/unofficial events are in other places, not the ICC.

Thanks for clarifying that Marimacc!

It makes a lot of sense why "just one little ticketed event" would be a huge deal, if it caused thousands of dollars in overhead for the Con.

Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

Raven wrote: Thanks for clarifying that Marimacc!

It makes a lot of sense why "just one little ticketed event" would be a huge deal, if it caused thousands of dollars in overhead for the Con.

Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

Or maybe a special Astral run with few props.

Mike Steele wrote:

Raven wrote: Thanks for clarifying that Marimacc!

It makes a lot of sense why "just one little ticketed event" would be a huge deal, if it caused thousands of dollars in overhead for the Con.

Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

Or maybe a special Astral run with few props.

Who's Yer Con demonstrated that this is possible.

Use several adjacent hotel rooms, throw combat boards on the beds ?

Raven wrote: Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

In theory yes, but then you are just shifting the setup problem.

Right now, Wednesday is used to set up Grind. Say a half day (but it theoretically is ready by the evening).

If you move the Grind materials somewhere else, you would be able to have it ready for a Wednesday, off-site event (obviously in all cases it would either be some special FREE run or it would charge standard prices and GenCon would get their cut OR some special situation like Golden Ticket runs). But then you have the problem that you would have to move all the materials *back* to the main area, and have it all ready in time for any Thursday events. So it would be a lot of extra moving and re-setup work, which probably is not feasible.

Incognito wrote:

Raven wrote: Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

In theory yes, but then you are just shifting the setup problem.

Right now, Wednesday is used to set up Grind. Say a half day (but it theoretically is ready by the evening).

If you move the Grind materials somewhere else, you would be able to have it ready for a Wednesday, off-site event (obviously in all cases it would either be some special FREE run or it would charge standard prices and GenCon would get their cut OR some special situation like Golden Ticket runs). But then you have the problem that you would have to move all the materials *back* to the main area, and have it all ready in time for any Thursday events. So it would be a lot of extra moving and re-setup work, which probably is not feasible.

Hrmmm... That begs the question: does Grind HAVE to be in the TD space at all? It's certainly more convenient, but that and the transmute station are the two pieces you could move across the street, and free up some real estate for something else.

Incognito wrote:

Raven wrote: Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

In theory yes, but then you are just shifting the setup problem.

Right now, Wednesday is used to set up Grind. Say a half day (but it theoretically is ready by the evening).

If you move the Grind materials somewhere else, you would be able to have it ready for a Wednesday, off-site event (obviously in all cases it would either be some special FREE run or it would charge standard prices and GenCon would get their cut OR some special situation like Golden Ticket runs). But then you have the problem that you would have to move all the materials *back* to the main area, and have it all ready in time for any Thursday events. So it would be a lot of extra moving and re-setup work, which probably is not feasible.

So what about something like a "Golden Ticket" Grind... where it would be a proofing of the grind before hand? If it was done offsite you would have 10 "helpers" to move it over and set it up...

Brad Mortensen wrote:

Incognito wrote:

Raven wrote: Makes me wonder though: could we have a True Grind (Wed. eve) event at a different location? Unlike True Dungeon, Grind can be moved relatively easily.

In theory yes, but then you are just shifting the setup problem.

Right now, Wednesday is used to set up Grind. Say a half day (but it theoretically is ready by the evening).

If you move the Grind materials somewhere else, you would be able to have it ready for a Wednesday, off-site event (obviously in all cases it would either be some special FREE run or it would charge standard prices and GenCon would get their cut OR some special situation like Golden Ticket runs). But then you have the problem that you would have to move all the materials *back* to the main area, and have it all ready in time for any Thursday events. So it would be a lot of extra moving and re-setup work, which probably is not feasible.

Hrmmm... That begs the question: does Grind HAVE to be in the TD space at all? It's certainly more convenient, but that and the transmute station are the two pieces you could move across the street, and free up some real estate for something else.

I think that the logistics for having the transmute station could be a bit much for one person to handle, as even if you had it in a room or somewhere you could lock up and leave, you would have to transport all the trade items, and for the case of the international people, C/UR/R's from transmutes back to TD proper.

Brad Mortensen wrote: Hrmmm... That begs the question: does Grind HAVE to be in the TD space at all? It's certainly more convenient, but that and the transmute station are the two pieces you could move across the street, and free up some real estate for something else.

"HAVE to" is really an ambiguous term. Besides Grind, I suppose you could make the argument that a TD store, the photo op, a storyscape, and a tavern wouldn't really *need* to be in the TD space. But doing so would lose out on a lot of advantages.

If the decision was between no Grind at all, and Grind somewhere offsite, of course I would go with Grind somewhere else, and find a way to handle all the inconveniences.

But the moment you start moving Grind to an isolated location you start having issues like:

- Players not showing up, getting lost, or being late because they arrived at the wrong place

- Losing access to the wait list wrangler

- Losing access to supplies from the main dungeon (character cards, lights, clips)

- Security, who is going to be guarding the other area?

- Setup is going to be a pain since we often need a lot of props and other supplies from the main TD hall

- Before and after each shift we have to carry a bunch of stuff to/from the TD office

Etc.

So while it is not impossible per se, it IS A LOT of extra work that someone is going to need to do.

Alvin Oliver wrote: So what about something like a "Golden Ticket" Grind... where it would be a proofing of the grind before hand? If it was done offsite you would have 10 "helpers" to move it over and set it up...

While I would certainly be willing to do a Golden Ticket Grind (and have suggested it in the past), it is ultimately up to Jeff whether or not he thinks it would be a good idea.

And while I think it could be a draw (given the scarcity of Grind slots), not everyone seems to think so. Henwy, for example, thinks it would be a terrible idea because he believes no one would be interested in a Golden Ticket Grind.

What do you think?