FX 17 Feedback

[DocLooshkin]

Hello, all.

I sincerely thank you for visiting my neighbourhood and hope Stratford didn't eat anyone. I can't believe how much money I spent. Still, I'm happy. I have lots of new t-shirts and a signed copy of the RPG. Plus new in-game decals and a paint-job, which is very pleasing.

By far and away, the best part of the day for me - even more than the big ED reveals - has been seeing and interacting with the ED community in person. Decent people, as mad as anyone would expect - but also so much more diverse and civilised than I would have believed from this forum.

To the Wolves of Jonai and Majorm3ss, if you're reading this, it was very nice meeting you - and I sincerely thank you for your entertaining company at different times. Lovely people!

To all the trolls out there: you are not who we are. You are, at best, the cold, unloved voice of fears and bile and bitterness, amplified above their true measure. You are not the truth of us at all. We're better than you pretend, however loudly you screech.

I have met the normality of us: the charitable spirit, the casual kindness and respect for others, the love of the game that is our unifying strength. Today, I'm proud to be a part of the ED community.

I raise my finest glass of Yamazaki to you, one and all. Cheers.

- - - - -

I forgot to hand in my feedback form at the end. D'oh! No collector's coin for me. Oh, well. Mostly for FD's benefit...

I definitely enjoyed myself. I'm not good in crowds, so it was a bit of a culture shock for me, but if you come back to London next year, I'm definitely up for another go. The best bits were the presentations and speakers - and especially the ED reveals at the end of the day.

FD, you've made all the right noises for Beyond. I know you're paying close attention. If you have doubts, take heart: today, I - like most of us, I'm certain - have the greatest renewed enthusiasm and confidence in the mission.

Some things could have been better. More games and things to watch, aside from the things that were there, would have been pleasing.

That was a long eight hours, a great deal of it standing motionless. For me, that's after a week of being constantly on my feet at work. Somewhere more comfortable to rest that wasn't in front of a game would have been good.

More seats for viewing the main stage would have been preferred, but I appreciate that might be a regulatory issue. Perhaps some proper rails to lean on and take the weight off? A covered smoking-area, possibly with benches or something, that would have been kinder, as well. No-one much likes being soaked with rain in the cold.

Speaking as someone in catering, that really wasn't a good experience. Man, who was in charge of that? My wallet's still bleeding, the choice was poor and my guts are still making grim, threatening noises from the alleged hot-dogs. They actually ran out of Mars bars, which is quite the special achievement at those prices. No whisky that I could see, only bourbon.

All in all, that wasn't so much a catering effort as an unholy revelation of Chef Hell. FD, if you're coming back next year, please try and make sure the food and drinks are a little less like comedy terrorism!

- - - - -

That's that. Roll on 2018.

 

[Alex Brentnall]

100% agree with all your points both positive and negative. (+1). It mirrors my experience almost one to one.

I spent time with the Buckyball racers, met some of the Fuel Rats I've only known in irc chat form and dived into presentations and various other things. Always a great bunch of people at the Elite events, ones that seem "normal" for lack of a better word. No "blinded" everything is perfect but general positivity and hope and discussions. We talked about everything from real life orbital mechanics to techniques of Buckyball racing to repair limpets to thargoids and everything.
I fully agree that more seating dotted around would have been nice, perhaps now the planet-coaster guys have picnic benches they can get spare a few normal benches to put perhaps around the walls at the outside.


Catering I agree was a disaster really. I had lunch on the way in, and what a good decision that was. Then I had a coke can and nearly lost my jaw when the response was £2.50, for that I'd expect them to fly a helicopter to the manufacturing plant and return it personally on a gold presentation platter... Ok, slight over-reaction but the coolers these were in didn't even keep them properly cold. Speaking to a few others as they ate I decided I'd go out for food, so sat through the reveal talks a little hungry. 15 min walk to Westfields did the trick for me, I then joined for the after-party. (Fyi I can accept £5 beers in London but as above the choice could have been better).
The way the event was run was good, smooth, slick. Great tech support I saw running around everywhere doing the livestream bits and fixing problems so the devs could concentrate on talking to us and hosting. The Venue itself was ok and it worked for the event but there were a few things that really let Here East down. Looking around the tables and I can say given the amount of alcohol they sold that night they probably took in £2000-£3000 on the after-party alone. Definitely felt cheated there.


But overall would totally go again, I'd maybe just plan ahead with a few other people. If it's at Here East next time I think I will order a Dominoes or Pizza Hut to the front door and sit on the benches outside for lunch/tea ideally joined by a few friends to chat. I'll also definitely take a water bottle or two. I mistakenly thought they'd have soft drinks like coke/lemonade etc on tap and be able to charge £2 a pint or whatever not £2.50 for a 330ml can.

 

[Fenris Wolf]

Another 100% agreement here.

Had a fabulous day, chatted to lots of people I'd only ever met online/in-game so it was good to put faces and voices to names.

Chatted with some of the Devs, completely missed Mr Brookes(!) but managed a quick word with DBOBE

Food... hmmm... yeah... could do better. I have a huge list of fatal allergies and all the food (except the caramel shortbread things) had stuff that would've seen me leaving the Expo either in an ambulance or a coffin! So a bit more choice next year please

Was gutted that I had to leave early, but these things happen

 

[Stoo]

Agree with you all above. Had a great day, although I was a little 'lonely' lol

Catering was marginal. The variety of food was shocking. The prices outrageous. By the time I was getting lunch they'd run out of everything bar egg or salmon sandwiches bah!

I think they could have planned the rooms better. More seating was definitely needed. I stood at the back of the big reveal for 2.5 hours and didn't know if my legs would work if I tried to walk lol.

It was great to meet many who I've known and been friends with since DDF/Alpha all those years ago but I'd never met. Shame you had to leave early Fenris, but at least we got a little chat in

Here East is a good venue though. I've been to the Olympic Park many times since 2012 as an avid athletics follower so I know the area well. I feel quite at home there nowadays

I'd definitely go again, but next time I'll get a founders pass so I get to join in the after party a bit more.

Thumbs up Frontier, good first Expo, here's to many more!

 

[stormyuk]

Yup agree with all those sentiments both good and bad also. Was really nice to be able to speak to some of the Frontier Devs. My feet were absolutely killing after watching the 5pm event. More places to chill and relax would have been nice.

More seating and more room to watch the events for sure. The prices for the catering agree, was a complete joke. We actually left and walked back to Stratford for lunch.

I am also hearing there are some issues redeeming the codes on PS4 but will check that later myself.

 

[Winterwalker]

It would be interesting to know ... let's say WELL ahead of time .. if there will be another.

With time to organise - even rent? - stands, complimentary to Frontier's games, if it's a big old space? eg. Pre-ordered Food Cartridges and a Cosmic Cow (sign, on a) milkshake stand?

Gutted to have missed it being a punter, though the livestream was - as far as I could tell - absolutely flawless.

 

[Stinja]

Ditto on catering.
Sandwiches, muffins etc were ok on quality, but the evening food was below average. Prices were probably as expected for me (as a Londoner), but expensive compared to M&S and the restaurants and bars at Westfield, which is a short walk away.
Drinks were just gouging... £2.50 for a small cup of bad filter coffee? Pull the other one, I just drank bottled water from M&S.

They didn't even have the drinks ready to go at the end of the 5pm event, no idea what the frantic discussions going on were about, but indicative of organisational weakness.


Merch store was disappointing. They could of butt-sexed my wallet if they sold high-quality sanctioned ship models, instead there were four or so t-shirts (not even the variety on the Frontier Store), books and the odd other thing. I think it was all Elite too(?) so no merch for Planet Coaster or Jurassic Park.
I'd also of thought getting someone like Forbidden Planet to do general scifi stuff could of padded out merch options.
Just felt very minimal token effort put into selling merch.


The second lecture hall was a bit noisy because there was only a false wall, and whoever was next door kept bleeding sound out over the speakers: the false wall wasn't even to the ceiling, but a good metre gap... Not too much of an issue, but again an area for improvement if you want things to seem more professional.


VR queue was horrendous, and in general I think there could of been better guidance of how playing of the games was handled. I saw one person on the non-VR for over an hour, so no real management to give people a fair go.


The wifi was terrible. I guess I should of brought a mifi / personal hotspot, but yeah, poor wifi.


On the up-side, the talks were pretty good, location is decent, Frontier themselves seemed amiable and open for the day.

 

[shadragon]

To all the trolls out there: you are not who we are. You are, at best, the cold, unloved voice of fears and bile and bitterness, amplified above their true measure. You are not the truth of us at all. We're better than you pretend, however loudly you screech.

I have met the normality of us: the charitable spirit, the casual kindness and respect for others, the love of the game that is our unifying strength. Today, I'm proud to be a part of the ED community.

Repped.

I'm sure the catering notes will be seen by the devs. Cheers.

 

[stupesX]

My feedback for what it is worth.
I was a founders pass holder, and I expected a bit more than I got. I enjoyed it mind.
1) I thought we would have a priority queue on entry to the venue. I feel it was impossible to make use of the prioroty seating at the welcome (main stage) as it took so long to get entry.
2) There was definitely a problem in the main hall with getting founders to the back of the seating area, so as to get access to the seating before general access. There was a channel at the back of the hall to get through to the hall but once in you were facing a hoard of folk waiting at the 2 entracnces to the seaating, and it was tough to get through - plus annoying for those waiting I would say. What was required IMHO was a fenced off queue down the left hand side that would also be useful for FD staff leaving the stage area. This was the case even when arriving 10 mins before a talk.
3) I mentioned the 2) to both Paige at the beginning and to a member of the Smart secuirty team but it seems it was not possible to make changes on the fly - this could represent a problem with reporting/decision making on the day. Perhaps it was confused between FD team and Smart as to who was making decisions. Or to much "someone elses problem"
4) The expectation of being a founder was "front row seating" - I was at IPEXPO earlier int eh week and the VIP seats were reserved with A4 reserved signs. In realisty due to the size of the hall, the 200 founders seats would have spread back into the middle of the hall (not front 2 rows as I expected), but this was compounded by some non founders sat in the front seats along with Press and VIPs.
5) Food and drink prices .. seriously . I know this is london but they should have been in line with the food and drink places outside at Here East. Otherwise you are fleecing your community as a captive audience and not even benefitting (I am thinking that the Event organiser did).
6) Games on big screens .. just an idea.
7) Is Here East really the best location logistically? People flying in are unlikely IMHO to landing locally. So who is this serving? Perhaps moving west a bit in London or to the midlands would serve better. Hotels or Station not that local either.

Good luck for FX18!
Stu

 

[stupesX]

@Stinja - VR queue??? Where was that?

And the Wifi was awesome for me.

 

[Shorty]

@Stinja - VR queue??? Where was that?

It was in the hall where the main stage was. Just when you entered on the right hand side at the gaming stations. As far as I can tell they had only one device there to check out, which I found a bit unfortunate.

 

[Juniper]

Five quid for a stale bagel.

That is all.

 

[VR jefranklin18]

It was in the hall where the main stage was. Just when you entered on the right hand side at the gaming stations. As far as I can tell they had only one device there to check out, which I found a bit unfortunate.

I think there were two but there was a significant queue either way.

My one piece of feedback is that there hasn't been an awful lot of press coverage of the announcements. TheSixthAxis.com has some, Eurogamer don't (but par for the course with that site) and PCGamesN only mentions ED.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

Yeah, food pricing was a bit shocking, but I was prepared for that eventuality (as I am from other parts of Europe of (still) cheap food, heh), and eat own made rich breakfast and and dinner from local Tesco. As I already suggested, water might be free or cheaper - after all, if you have such event, water is always good idea to be accessible, because while it is fun, it is also exhausting. People want to get something, and water helps usually.

Location - I didn't mind Here East, but I don't have to compare against anything in London, because this was first time I visited. I booked AirBnB 3 km away and it felt close enough for both to visit central London by metro and venue of event by foot.

 

[Cmdr Eagleboy]

I think there were two but there was a significant queue either way.

My one piece of feedback is that there hasn't been an awful lot of press coverage of the announcements. TheSixthAxis.com has some, Eurogamer don't (but par for the course with that site) and PCGamesN only mentions ED.

There were some media with some serious gear. Why reporting is held back I wonder.

Although it felt really a community event trough and trough, and it felt FD playing on it's strengths. Also less hype so long prior release, better imho.

 

[Rob At Work]

Is DJ still at the airport?

 

[Ian Phillips]

My feedback for what it is worth.
..
..
7) Is Here East really the best location logistically? People flying in are unlikely IMHO to landing locally. So who is this serving? Perhaps moving west a bit in London or to the midlands would serve better. Hotels or Station not that local either.

Good luck for FX18!
Stu

I did - flew in to London City Airport, one short tube ride to the hotel. Perfect!

Although having to get up at 04:00 BST to get to the airport on time did have it's payback later on in the day!

 

[Mu77ley]

I had a great time.

The talks were interesting and informative.
The devs were friendly and approachable (including the ones who were there in their own time and not actually "working" per se).
The people that I met were fantastic.
Band was great (the DJ was a bit dire, but that's really not my taste of music anyway).
Was great to see the large amount of interest in the EDRPG (the stand was busy almost all day).

The only downsides for the whole day were the aforementioned horrendously overpriced and poor catering. Plus they ran out of non-lager beer choices about 3 minutes after the party started.

Roll on FX18 with hopefully better catering.

 

[VR micmacmoc]

Was there any ale? Don’t mean cask necessarily as there’s decent keg these days.

 

[Mu77ley]

Was there any ale? Don’t mean cask necessarily as there’s decent keg these days.

I saw a few bottles of Doom Bar floating around, but they'd ran out almost immediately.