Before I get into this I want to say this was my favorite EVO (being my 4th one). The set ups, room layout, and pools were all ran great and EVO is definitely showing the love for the community.The staff did an amazing job and I only see this getting better. But there are always small things that stand out so list them here with solutions. I know some things like the Spectator pass were an issue so post solutions to the problem that forced the issue to exist.
My only personal complaint was the food situation. Do to it being at Caesars this year it was impossible to find reasonably priced food. I took a gamble at Flamingo’s Buffet and ended up skipping out on a tip for the first time in my life and a quick trip on to Yelp…and at finals finally succumbed to the vastly over priced EVO snack bar. My hotdog was about as soggy as some of the players in that room. I know many players were not happy about the prices either and kinda felt trapped by the situation (And by quality standards that $5 hotdog was 5x over priced). So maybe next year we team up with a local food vendor to offer us some affordable food without a 15 minute trip off the premise.
I think they should have head to head set ups for the mainstage. Or at least for top 32 or whatever it was. Ghetto modding a chair with a t-shirt to use as a screen between players was kinda embarrassing compared to the rest of the premium build of the event. If the FGTV house can have split signals for multiple monitors used for play, why can’t the biggest fighting game tournament in the world do it?
Also, after watching the UMVC3 top 8, I thought 2/3 for SF4 was really short in comparison. In MvC3, you can get randomed out more easily, but the games are fairly long. Especially when the clock gets low, as 1 Marvel second, is at least 2 SF4 seconds.
The dual headphones for each station was a nice touch though. A step in the right direction I would think.
Man, thats right… Take a look at Tougeki SBO or GodsGarden…
And a kind of boring everytime have plug and unplug joystick behind the ps3. Man! Its EVO!
Lights and camera angle on players are not so ‘pro’ they could hire someone to do that :-/
I’d like the option to have pools shown on 2 streams, so we don’t miss something like Sako vs. Fuudo while the only stream gets Average Joe 1 vs. Average Joe 2.
I’m ok with the players plugging in their stick, instead of premade control panels. Because this is a console tournament, players are able to use any style of controller they want. Whether it be a normal Madcatz stick, or a PS2 pad with a converter, or a Hitbox, MAS stick etc. Whether they want to play standing up, sitting on the chair, or OG status; on the floor ala Yipes, Marlin Pie, Jwong MvC2. Maybe have a nice adjustable stand for players to choose the best that suits them. Something like this would be really top notch, and an eye opener. http://www.kraylixarcade.com/klx_kit.html
But having them layed out in a head-to-head style would really allow the players to focus all their energy into their play, instead of worrying about the other player’s physical reactions like twitching and button presses.
Like what UltraDavid and JamesChen were explaining during the ST tournament of legends, those custom cabs were built with custom inputs to allow players to plug in their preferred stick of choice, rather than using the standard JP style cabinet controls. The option is there for people that like it. But it is also open to inputs.
Those are built ST arcade cabinets. Older games look better on non hd TVs. And they were playing a legit ST board. Can’t really modernize an original arcade cabinet
Evo food was a bit overpriced, but it was a heck of a lot better than going to the food court. I bought some grilled steak tacos and those things were the smallest tacos I’ve ever seen, for $12 dollars. To make matters worse there was only one cook and he was slow as hell, never again lol.
I heard some people got in without a badge, the security guard was not top flight and was too old. I got by him while he wasn’t even looking lol (I had a badge so don’t come at me bro).
Yeah, I’m local too, that’s why I bought soda, snacks, and smokes off the strip and brought them there XD. It would have been a long walk to the nearest franchise food place, except Chipotle and Panda Express nestled next to the Harrahs, across from the Mirage/Forum Shop. The Rio has a Burger King, but they blow up their prices too.
Only one suggestion - get some kind of barrier in pools between the players and the crowd. I watched a pools match where one of the players got hit in the face during the round by a backpack of someone passing by. Close quarters are a given due to the crowd size now but maybe some kind of barrier\roped off area so the bumping into the players during the match stuff doesn’t happen. Some of the UMVC3 pools near the stage area were so crowded people couldn’t even move much less sit down and play comfortably.
The overpriced food and it’s quality was to be expected. You pay more for it being right next door and not having to leave the venue or conference level. In general Vegas is pretty awful value wise for food. We ate at Cheesecake Factory in the forum shops for the same amount as buying chicken strips in the food court. The little coffee shop on the corner near the escalators wasn’t bad for something different - saw quite a few people with the crepes or whatever those pasteries were.
Watching people try to unhook the chairs in the viewing area was one of the best parts of the entire weekend. Countless times people walked up and just pulled on the chairs expecting them to come apart. Overall it was fun, lots of people and chaos as usual. The BYOC area was exceptionally crammed this year, lots of games in the back had good crowds too. Very cool to see the commercial aspect creeping in with the vendors and what not.
