[Brian2112]

I've been playing Shadowrun for over 20 years and started when second edition was relatively new.  This is my third year in a row of playing SR missions and my 12th year at Gen Con.  I'm not new to gaming or Gen Con and know that missions can be a mixed bag of good and bad experiences.  However, when the bad experiences outweigh the good, I feel the need to offer some constructive criticism and feedback.

1. Thank you.  The GMs and crew running the events were polite, professional and excellent ambassadors for the game.  I was disappointed in the start time for the games.  Giving players a few extra minutes to get to the table is fine.  The problem is that every game I was in started 20-30 minutes AFTER the listed start time.  After waiting for players and no shows, we then had to wait for the line of people who signed up (assuming with generics) to be spread around to fill spots.  This part felt unorganized and left the punctual players sitting there with nothing to do.

2.  It’s hard to write a generic mission when you have no idea what people are going to show up with.  The Olympic series of missions was very underwhelming.  I didn't feel challenged and in one game there was no combat.  You don't need to resort to combat to resolve every encounter, but I'd like to roll some dice at least once in the game.  The GMs need to step it up a bit and up the challenge level.  When a group can wipe out the opposition before there is even any danger or harm, where is the fun/challenge?  When the only damage the group takes is stun from a bad drain role, are we really earning that karma?  You don’t want a TPK, but four milk runs is not enjoyable.

3.  Mission length.  Three of my four games ended early.  One only took 90 minutes.  Considering we started late (see #1), I’m not really getting the four hours of gaming time I paid for.  I don’t know what else to say here.  If the game is dragging, the GM needs to move the players along.  If the group is good and burning through the mission at a fast pace, maybe the missions should have a few extra optional encounters.  Bottom line – if you are not going to run a 3 ½ - 4 hour game, don’t charge me for a four hour game.   

Thanks for reading.

[Banshee]

Hi, first off let me say thanks for your feedback. We find this kind of information very helpful and useful.


1. Thank you.  The GMs and crew running the events were polite, professional and excellent ambassadors for the game.  I was disappointed in the start time for the games.  Giving players a few extra minutes to get to the table is fine.  The problem is that every game I was in started 20-30 minutes AFTER the listed start time.  After waiting for players and no shows, we then had to wait for the line of people who signed up (assuming with generics) to be spread around to fill spots.  This part felt unorganized and left the punctual players sitting there with nothing to do.

This is something we are unfortunately stuck with GenCon requires us to wait at least 10 minutes to allow the preregistered ticketed players to arrive at their tables before seating generics, and considering all of our events were sold out this effects every table. Otherwise we are constantly evolving and improving our generic seating method but there is only so much we can do without flat out turning players away.It is by no means unorganized but it is time consuming.

2.  It’s hard to write a generic mission when you have no idea what people are going to show up with.  The Olympic series of missions was very underwhelming.  I didn't feel challenged and in one game there was no combat.  You don't need to resort to combat to resolve every encounter, but I'd like to roll some dice at least once in the game.  The GMs need to step it up a bit and up the challenge level.  When a group can wipe out the opposition before there is even any danger or harm, where is the fun/challenge?  When the only damage the group takes is stun from a bad drain role, are we really earning that karma?  You don’t want a TPK, but four milk runs is not enjoyable.

This is also an unfortunate side effect of the con environment since as you're right we can prepare for every table ahead of time, our missions are usually written in a way to allow enough flexibility so that the GM can adapt to the players. Some GM's are obviously better at this than others. I will try to address this point with my GM's.

3.  Mission length.  Three of my four games ended early.  One only took 90 minutes.  Considering we started late (see #1), I’m not really getting the four hours of gaming time I paid for.  I don’t know what else to say here.  If the game is dragging, the GM needs to move the players along.  If the group is good and burning through the mission at a fast pace, maybe the missions should have a few extra optional encounters.  Bottom line – if you are not going to run a 3 ½ - 4 hour game, don’t charge me for a four hour game. 

The answer here pretty much mirrors the answer to #2; but between seating and then wrap-up and debriefing at the end there is only time for 3-3.5 hour mission in a 4 hour slot. But again more consistent time management is something i expect from my GM's and I will try to address that as well.

thank you,

[Brian2112]

This is something we are unfortunately stuck with GenCon requires us to wait at least 10 minutes to allow the preregistered ticketed players to arrive at their tables before seating generics, and considering all of our events were sold out this effects every table.

Good information to know.  I promise to be more patient next year. 

This is also an unfortunate side effect of the con environment since as you're right we can prepare for every table ahead of time, our missions are usually written in a way to allow enough flexibility so that the GM can adapt to the players. Some GM's are obviously better at this than others. I will try to address this point with my GM's.

I have to disagree with you here.  I've played in some very challenging RPG sessions at Gen Con with bring your own and not pre-gens.  I don't have an easy answer for you on how to improve.  The GMs already commit a significant amount of time, so I'm hesitant to say 'more prep'.  However, I did have one GM tell us "I only got three hours of sleep and didn't read the mission".  So there is some room for improvement and maybe a little more effort than just being there to run games to get a free badge/room.  This is a product people are paying for (not trying to sound like an "entitled consumer") and we are ready to game, our enthusiasm is diminished when the GM is obviously phoning it in. 

[Tai-Pan]

I can't fault the GM's on my games. I make full use of the Tinner Rule. My only ticketed event this year was the tournament and I played ~40 hours of shadowrun over the course of Gencon. Unless they'd run games at Origins they were completely cold. After PLAYING for 32 hours in the first 2 days I was pretty much mailing it in let alone trying to GM for anywhere close to that long.

[Chance]

I had the opposite issue, with all of my runs going right to the bitter end. That of course made for rushing to the next event. I was surprised that there were no Missiond feedback forms this year. Any particular reason those were phased out?

[tequila]

I actually like having 20-30 min at the end of a mission to collect my stuff and maybe get something to eat or drink.  As long as the session is fun and we progress through the story I feel like I've gotten my monies worth.

[Banshee]

I have to disagree with you here.  I've played in some very challenging RPG sessions at Gen Con with bring your own and not pre-gens.  I don't have an easy answer for you on how to improve.  The GMs already commit a significant amount of time, so I'm hesitant to say 'more prep'.  However, I did have one GM tell us "I only got three hours of sleep and didn't read the mission".  So there is some room for improvement and maybe a little more effort than just being there to run games to get a free badge/room.  This is a product people are paying for (not trying to sound like an "entitled consumer") and we are ready to game, our enthusiasm is diminished when the GM is obviously phoning it in. 

Like i said it is up to our GM's to adjust to the table, I provide access to the missions with enough notice that there is no excuse for any of them to not be prepared and I apologize for your bad experience and can only promise to do my best to correct that issue in the future.

I had the opposite issue, with all of my runs going right to the bitter end. That of course made for rushing to the next event. I was surprised that there were no Missiond feedback forms this year. Any particular reason those were phased out?

We try to wrap up around 15-20 minutes before the end of the time slot just so our players can avoid that issue.
As for the feedback forms, we found that players were not utilizing the QR codes provided which left an overabundance of data entry to fall on one person to complete in a timely manner. I also found that the rating system didn't provide much useful data as well as it really only showed that players either loved or hated their experience. My plan was to offer comment cards instead of the full feedback forms, which does provide useful information but does not require extensive data entry ... but I didn't get them done in time this year.

[Fade]

Yeah, sorry about the bad experiences.  Those are hopefully an outlier though.  The GM saying he never read the mission is one thing when running a floater table, where you may just run something totally random based on what people want, but not being prepped for your regular games is something I know most of us try to avoid.  Wednesday isn't just a party night, as a lot of time is spent talking to other GM's who have read/ran the run, and even sometimes finding the author of the mission and picking their brain about it if they are available.

For example:
I ended up running a crazy one off floater table where it was requested to run a mission from last year.   The rest of the table was fine with it, but I cautioned them that I hadn't read this one so it would be a little choppy.  This mission wasn't part of the normal prep, but all the same, it went off pretty well.

As for the others, I ran Killing Pawn and Falling Angels as well, and I spent quite a bit of time talking to other GM's about it after I had read it, as well as finding their authors to see what the intent of a couple of scenes were.  (Well, other than run them over with a truckload of nasty NPC's, right Dr Meatgrinder?)

Not reading it ahead of time is pretty pig ass lazy, and it gives those who prep a bad name. 

I'm gonna find this guy next year and slap him around.

[Fedifensor]

I'm going to focus on the Shadowrun LARP, since that's the event I played (for the second year in a row):

First, the positives:

• The actual event was a lot of fun - I had a much easier time getting involved in the plot than last year.
• I like how the NPCs were spread out, and the cards as cash are a cool prop.
• Speaking of NPCs, I felt there were a good variety, and did a great job portraying the feel of the world

Now, at the same time, there were some negatives.  Despite the length of the comments below, I felt the positives did outweigh the negatives.  However, I think a few simple changes would improve the experience for everyone:

• The essential info on how to play the LARP was lacking.  There were less than a dozen copies of the LARP rules (I think someone said there were 7 total copies), and it was hard to hear the explanation of the rules due to background noise.  Once I got my hands on a copy of the rules, I found at least two things that I did wrong (Initiative and Armor) that could have had a major effect on how the character played.  More copies would have helped, as would the creation of a posterboard with bullet points of the most essential calculations.  Heck, I'm an agent, and I drive to GenCon - I'd be happy to cart these items to the con next year.
• Releasing online copies of the above info shortly before the con (or even having a web address on a posterboard in the con room) would help alleviate the need for a large amount of hardcopy rules and handouts.  Most of us have smartphones or other devices that can download the info - I even brought my iPad.
  
• It was cool having NPCs in the Exhibitor Hall.  It was not as cool having to hike back and forth from the Exhibitor Hall multiple times, especially when carrying my gaming bag and trying to pass through a parade.  Transit back and forth ate up a significant portion of my gaming time.
• Give an initial objective for the characters, instead of turning them loose with little guidance.  Some ideas:

• Last year we got a 1-page sheet (front and back) with news items that were clues to plots.  Have this return at GenCon 2016, but make the front side IC info while the back side has some OOC guidance and/or starting missions to do if you're lost.
• Make the initial premise something where the PCs are paid to show up, so they get an initial amount of money (2k?) instead of immediately digging into their personal stash to have nuyen for the game.  This would also help counterbalance the extremely poor cash payout of the event.
  
• Designate a few NPCs to give missions for speciality characters.  Maybe have Quantum Princess give out missions that only a decker or technomancer can do, another NPC asking for something to be recovered from the Cermak crater (requiring a rigger than can send in a remote drone), and a third NPC who needs something done astrally.
• This is the hardest one to do, but create several rumors, and give each attendee one or two rumors/infobits at random on small slips of paper.  That way, each PC has some unique info that others may not have, which may help with the resolution of plots.  They wouldn't be the only way to resolve a plotline...but it would give people a way into plots they may otherwise not see.  For example, maybe one infobit is "Echo's shop is located on the southwest side of the Maker Collective between 4th and Grant [OOC: Exhibitor Hall, booth #657]".  If that player hears other people looking for Echo, they have an instant hook into the plotline.

I realize some of the above suggestions require spending money on materials, but the LARP is $10 for a 4 hour session.  A ream of paper (and however much ink is used for printing), 2 posterboards (with sticky tack to mount them on the wall), and a black marker isn't going to break the bank.  Heck, if worse comes to worse I'd offer to buy the supplies.

[Dr. Meatgrinder]

Thanks for the LARP feedback!

I'm going to focus on the Shadowrun LARP, since that's the event I played (for the second year in a row):

It was cool having NPCs in the Exhibitor Hall.  It was not as cool having to hike back and forth from the Exhibitor Hall multiple times, especially when carrying my gaming bag and trying to pass through a parade.  Transit back and forth ate up a significant portion of my gaming time.

This LARP is actually more confined in space than it has been in years past.  In particular, the Scramble a few years ago had players walking between the Exhibit Hall and the Crowne Plaza, which is quite a walk in August for a longer event.  (In the 2011 Scramble, I even played a NPC who was stationed in the revolving hotel atop the Hyatt.)  We've been trying not to use the Exhibit Hall the last couple of years because it gets so crowded on Saturday and because having a whole runner team stopping in the aisle to do something blocks traffic.

Last year we got a 1-page sheet (front and back) with news items that were clues to plots.  Have this return at GenCon 2016, but make the front side IC info while the back side has some OOC guidance and/or starting missions to do if you're lost.

Apologies for that.  We'd actually written one of those, but I guess it got either lost or forgotten in the con shuffle.

Make the initial premise something where the PCs are paid to show up, so they get an initial amount of money (2k?) instead of immediately digging into their personal stash to have nuyen for the game.  This would also help counterbalance the extremely poor cash payout of the event.

That's a good idea, I think.  We've tried to keep the pay down, but we may have done too good a job at that, with the job pay being split 6-7 ways.

Designate a few NPCs to give missions for speciality characters.  Maybe have Quantum Princess give out missions that only a decker or technomancer can do, another NPC asking for something to be recovered from the Cermak crater (requiring a rigger than can send in a remote drone), and a third NPC who needs something done astrally.

We've done that with some of the hacking jobs (my NPC gave out at least two hacking jobs at this year's LARP).  But it's dangerous to have a plot hinge on one or more specialty missions because we can't guarantee the right role will show up for the job and it can be tough to adjust in-play.

This is the hardest one to do, but create several rumors, and give each attendee one or two rumors/infobits at random on small slips of paper.  That way, each PC has some unique info that others may not have, which may help with the resolution of plots.  They wouldn't be the only way to resolve a plotline...but it would give people a way into plots they may otherwise not see.  For example, maybe one infobit is "Echo's shop is located on the southwest side of the Maker Collective between 4th and Grant [OOC: Exhibitor Hall, booth #657]".  If that player hears other people looking for Echo, they have an instant hook into the plotline.

You'd be surprised at how hard it is to get different teams to interact, the lengths to which players can go to avoid interacting with other teams, and/or the tendency of some players to closely guard info that they (and only they) are given.  I played in the 2012 Scramble, and this happened to my team:  we got only one or two initial contacts, and the rest of the 6-hour LARP (the Scramble was 8 hours, including about an hour of table play at each end) depended too heavily on other teams contacting us (which they didn't).  Most of the people at my table swore they'd never do it again after 6 hours of walking around doing nothing in particular.

On the other hand, I'll combine this suggestion with the "starter missions on the screamsheet" suggestion and propose the following:  How about a screamsheet that has clues and jobs scattered in it, with several different versions (perhaps printed on different colors of paper), so each team starts with one color of screamsheet and maybe can do jobs to get other versions (or interact with other teams to get theirs)?