[Mega Man]

Hello folks,

Another year, another disastrous trip to Oregon City. We had fun this year, but we wanted to know what you all thought. While walking through the con we asked people what they thought and got a lot of positive responses but the more feedback the better. Some questions I would like to know.

Did you like the Oregon Trail 5th Edition or the original DOS version we have run in previous years?

Did you like the physical challenge portion? (I know we didn't get to use as many as these as we would have wanted, but we had more prepared)

Are there any challenges you think would work for next year?

Favorite moment? (keep this PG folks)

I set up a poll for those of you who feel that that is easier for themselves. Can't wait to hear what you guys got.

[Sergenthalo]

I didn't like the panel hosts. I think "The Fan Service" is a joke and just essentially did what ever they wanted.

This post has been edited by Sergenthalo: 30 April 2012 - 07:59 AM

[Sarahlicious]

Personally, I like the DOS version better. Most of us who remember playing Oregon Trail remember that version.

[Mega Man]

Sergenthalo, on 30 April 2012 - 07:59 AM, said:

I didn't like the panel hosts. I think "The Fan Service" is a joke and just essentially did what ever they wanted.

Being one of the hosts myself, I would appreciate if you elaborated. As far as not liking us, The panel is designed around us being rude to the audience so I can understand the feeling that could come with it. As for thefanservice.com, they are an actual online retailer who asked us if in exchange for providing prizes (something we usually shell out of pocket for) that we mention them during the panel and let everyone know about them. One of the things we noticed after the panel was that usually we do a big rally on what to do if they fail, but this year we honestly forgot about it because we were worrying more about time restraints and the newer aspects to the game being the first time we have presented this version. If there is anything you would like for us to change, we encourage you to reply back on here.

Sarahlicious, on 30 April 2012 - 08:09 AM, said:

Personally, I like the DOS version better. Most of us who remember playing Oregon Trail remember that version.

I did want to keep the original version just because we were more familiar with it. However after a really fun trial playthrough of 5th edition, we decided to give it a shot just to try and keep the panel fresh. There just seemed like there was a lot more that they could do in the new version to the point where we wouldn't have to worry about any down time. The last time we did this panel with DOS, we had enough time to go through 4 games. After about the third time people were getting bored and leaving and that is not what we want to happen with the audience as all.

Thank you both for the feedback.

[Sarahlicious]

Oh I did enjoy the version that was used too, but this was my first time attending this panel so I guess it was just a personal expectation of mine (I didnt know they made an updated version of the game) unfortunately I think the success of the panel does rely heavily on the selected participant's, seeing as numerous attempts to persuade them that they needed a gun just did not register. Either way I enjoyed the panel very much and will definitly attend next year!

[Mega Man]

Sarahlicious, on 30 April 2012 - 09:43 AM, said:

Oh I did enjoy the version that was used too, but this was my first time attending this panel so I guess it was just a personal expectation of mine (I didnt know they made an updated version of the game) unfortunately I think the success of the panel does rely heavily on the selected participant's, seeing as numerous attempts to persuade them that they needed a gun just did not register. Either way I enjoyed the panel very much and will definitly attend next year!

Thanks for the positive review. And yes, it does heavily rely on what the contestants choose to buy. That was one of the funner aspects of this version. There were things in the game we didn't even touch, like talking to people along the way, trading, random strangers, fishing, and herb collecting to name a few. We are already working on how to improve next years, possibly switch out a challenge or two.

Also, I see my fellow panelist therobd lurking in this forum so hopefully he will join the conversation soon.

[flyingcabbit]

This was my first year attending, and really it was cool.

Although it felt a little disorganized and my friends who attended last year felt the same way. I think there was to many options for the contestants to pick from when setting up their parties.

So maybe have them do a mini-game for their set-up options instead of letting them pick. So if they do well in the game, they get a better overall wagon, and if they do a lousy job just a pistol, a set of ox, and and bacon. This would also cut down on time, because the panel host apparently know the game inside and out and could probably set it up better.

The fanfic reading was awesome though.

[rajamitsu]

This was one of the events I was really looking forward to this year and I was not disappointed. I do feel like there were a few kinks here and there (the shopping, for example - not that it wasn't hilarious), but I figure they were due to trying out the new edition and nothing big enough to ruin the event in any way.

While I'm quite fond of the original edition of the game, there's just so much more that can go wrong in the newer edition that I ended up voting for it. ^^;

[Mega Man]

flyingcabbit, on 30 April 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

This was my first year attending, and really it was cool.

Although it felt a little disorganized and my friends who attended last year felt the same way. I think there was to many options for the contestants to pick from when setting up their parties.

So maybe have them do a mini-game for their set-up options instead of letting them pick. So if they do well in the game, they get a better overall wagon, and if they do a lousy job just a pistol, a set of ox, and and bacon. This would also cut down on time, because the panel host apparently know the game inside and out and could probably set it up better.

The fanfic reading was awesome though.

I like the idea of a minigame at the beginning. One of the things they offer at the beginning of the game is a prebuilt pack of goods including food, a gun, medicine, and what not. What we could do is have them complete a massive challenge to see if they get that. If not then they pass on the pack and get to shop in town.

I also did enjoy the fanfiction part. The only part about that I didn't like was having to find it all in the first place. Way too much garbage to sift through.

rajamitsu, on 30 April 2012 - 10:24 PM, said:

This was one of the events I was really looking forward to this year and I was not disappointed. I do feel like there were a few kinks here and there (the shopping, for example - not that it wasn't hilarious), but I figure they were due to trying out the new edition and nothing big enough to ruin the event in any way.

While I'm quite fond of the original edition of the game, there's just so much more that can go wrong in the newer edition that I ended up voting for it. ^^;

I am glad we didn't disappoint as well. And yea, due to conflicting schedules between me and the rest of the group, our actual planning times for this were few and far between in person. Since it was on my computer, whenever I had a free moment I would do a few playthroughs to see what worked and what didn't. One of the things I forgot to check was what happens when you start in March. I had no idea the lakes could be frozen so that sort of limited all the challenges total. River crossings are key challenge spots. But yea, we should be a little more well prepared for next year in the organization area.

[therobd]

I concur with Mega Man on most of these issues. We changed a lot for this year's Oregon Trail panel. Some of the changes worked, and some didn't. Our first objective is to keep the audience entertained, and we often have to think on our feet when the panel doesn't go exactly as we've planned. Here's a quick look at what you can expect for next year based on some preliminary feedback here:

- More stability and organization. We probably won't change nearly as much next year and will have a much firmer plan of what we're doing. ACen's Oregon Trail 2012 has changed a ton from our first playthrough at Youmacon in 2009. Next year will probably be the first year we bring back most of the challenges and format. We'll continue to tweak this based on how it goes at a couple more conventions before ACen (We'll probably try to run this at Youmacon this year at least if you're interested. ).

- Some way to streamline shopping. While it was fun to watch this team scramble, it was pretty clear they had no idea what to do. Luckily, Oregon Trail 5th Edition allows you to purchase a pack of goods from the beginning. We'll find some way to allow the contestants to purchase packs as well as other goods so there's still a moment of hilarity when they waste tons of money on bacon.

- I'm leaning toward keeping Oregon Trail 5th Edition personally, but this depends on the feedback here and what happens at the conventions before next ACen.

- Physical challenges are probably coming back. Again, this is dependent on feedback we get here. They were definitely a dud in the beginning, but I felt the audience got into them as we went on. We'll try to find new and better ones, too.

- Fanfiction reading is coming back. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.

We'll look for other ways to improve.

Sergenthalo said:

I didn't like the panel hosts. I think "The Fan Service" is a joke and just essentially did what ever they wanted.

Keep in mind that we try to be fair-ish to the contestants in the game. We always give them a challenge at rivers and injuries, but we can't just let them starve if they have no food. It's a delicate balance to keep, and there's not really a great way to apply a consistent, entertaining ruleset without being drowned in minutia. We leave the fate of the contestants in their hands as much as we can.

Please let us know specifics if you didn't like us. We'll do our best to take what you say and make the panel better.

[flyingcabbit]

Oh, I just personally wanted to add this. But I feel like there should be a bonnet of shame for contestants that do really stupid things or something. But that thought just personally amuses me. But feel free to use it if it tickles your fancy.

[Galuade]

I enjoyed it much more than last years to be honest, though that was mainly because I think you had a better group of contestants this year. However, having said that, I also feel like suggesting some sort of punishment for contestants who text during the game or do other things that are just rude. The host in the middle (sorry, can't recall his name) did a hilariously good job by tell him to **** off and ignoring his victory in the challenging by forcing him to continue on.

Maybe next year it can be an instant kick out? Or replacement? Harsh, but that dude really annoyed me for some reason. All those people went up to get a seat and not only did he steal his pick-up line from a panel's name, he didn't even seem all that interested.

[Kendra]

This is the third year I've been, this is the only panel I actually look forward to and am going next year assuming it's held. I like that you've been given a larger room and two hours. Part of the reason I enjoy going is because I remember playing the game, thus I liked the old version better. Would playing II or III give you new material while still being nostalgic? I would continue to skip over talking to people on the trail, but that may be because I always did while playing. I'd also encourage adding in more hunting as time allows. I thought the fanfic reading was hilarious and was my favorite part. I don't watch much anime anymore and couldn't guess one of the name that hentai/anime clips. I'm not sure if these are too hard or if I'm out of the loop, either way I think this portion should be kept. I liked QWOP because it was quick, impossible to do (therefore funny) but not difficult to learn how to...try. I liked the TP-ing of each other. I wonder if you could play short sections of other games from the same time period as a challenge. I don't have any suggestions outside of Oregon Trail, but to illustrate my point you could spend 30 seconds hunting and would win the challenge if you got more than x pounds of food. This would probably be too difficult to queue up, but is just a thought. Audience members picked make a huge difference. I'm not sure if choosing participants in advance would be helpful or not but some panelists do so. Thank you very much for doing this panel!

[Mega Man]

Galuade, on 03 May 2012 - 05:50 PM, said:

I enjoyed it much more than last years to be honest, though that was mainly because I think you had a better group of contestants this year. However, having said that, I also feel like suggesting some sort of punishment for contestants who text during the game or do other things that are just rude. The host in the middle (sorry, can't recall his name) did a hilariously good job by tell him to **** off and ignoring his victory in the challenging by forcing him to continue on.Maybe next year it can be an instant kick out? Or replacement? Harsh, but that dude really annoyed me for some reason. All those people went up to get a seat and not only did he steal his pick-up line from a panel's name, he didn't even seem all that interested.

Yea, the middle host manning the computer was me. Thank you. For acknowledging my ability to swear at people, oregon trail is the only time I really can cut loose. I did feel like kicking him out of the panel but it was already running somewhat late and we still had two people left to kill off. Amd do not worry, you weren't the only one to dislike ****smasher. That is why I like that we give him a bad word for a name, talking to him alone insults him. We were pretty sure that after the panel that he was drunk and none of us liked him. Therobd is notorious for picking bad contestants, so we figured it was going to be so ;P

Kendra, on 03 May 2012 - 08:46 PM, said:

This is the third year I've been, this is the only panel I actually look forward to and am going next year assuming it's held. I like that you've been given a larger room and two hours. Part of the reason I enjoy going is because I remember playing the game, thus I liked the old version better. Would playing II or III give you new material while still being nostalgic? I would continue to skip over talking to people on the trail, but that may be because I always did while playing. I'd also encourage adding in more hunting as time allows. I thought the fanfic reading was hilarious and was my favorite part. I don't watch much anime anymore and couldn't guess one of the name that hentai/anime clips. I'm not sure if these are too hard or if I'm out of the loop, either way I think this portion should be kept. I liked QWOP because it was quick, impossible to do (therefore funny) but not difficult to learn how to...try. I liked the TP-ing of each other. I wonder if you could play short sections of other games from the same time period as a challenge. I don't have any suggestions outside of Oregon Trail, but to illustrate my point you could spend 30 seconds hunting and would win the challenge if you got more than x pounds of food. This would probably be too difficult to queue up, but is just a thought. Audience members picked make a huge difference. I'm not sure if choosing participants in advance would be helpful or not but some panelists do so. Thank you very much for doing this panel!

We will more than likely be hosting again next year, it is our favorite panel to run and according to panel ops, a real crowd favorite. We can't deny our fans of our potty mouths and river fording,

As for the anime, do not worry about not getting them, the most recent one was from 2004. We had some easy ones mixed in but they were not lucky enough to get ramdomly selected.

We have toyed around with the idea of doing side games. The first time we did it we did street fighter matches, I even wanted to do donkey kong jr math to test our party's basic math skills. One of the downfalls with doing these though is that there are a lot of input switching and computer lag and all that techno mumbo jumbo. And yea, we did need them to hunt more (even though after I killed that bear, ****smasher still died of starvation....drats). One of the options I wanted to use but never had a chance to was picking herbs in this one, because you can pick a poisonous herb and poison the party.

On one final note though, your welcome and thank you for being fan. We are glad we can make acen more enjoyabke than it already is for you and everyone else.

flyingcabbit, on 02 May 2012 - 10:43 PM, said:

Oh, I just personally wanted to add this. But I feel like there should be a bonnet of shame for contestants that do really stupid things or something. But that thought just personally amuses me. But feel free to use it if it tickles your fancy.

We would need lots of bonnets

[therobd]

Galuade, on 03 May 2012 - 05:50 PM, said:

snip

Honestly, we actually did our best to reduce the effect contestants could have on the entertainment of the panel without minimizing their role. Game elements like requiring contestants to explain their injuries could be fun, but it was a giant drag on the panel if they plain weren't creative. We don't hold it against them, but there's only so many ways to say you got dysentery because you had sex with one of the contestants/hosts. We were already leaning this way, but we really noticed how much subpar contestants can bring the panel down in our last couple playthroughs.

That said, all due respect to **quaman, this might have been the best crop of contestants we had. Even C***smasher made a great villain for the crowd to boo. In fact, on the off chance they come to these forums, I'd like to address them:

El C***o: You performed the role of the luchador admirably, including selling your own death. I thoroughly enjoyed your antics.

D***leach: What you did when we asked you to say something mean to C***smasher will remain one of my favorite Oregon Trail moments for a while. I did not expect the claws to come out like that. You were a great contestant.

C***smasher: I'm pretty sure you didn't expect the crowd to make you a strawman like that, but even though you don't know how to play Oregon Trail, everyone needs someone to boo. Please don't come to our panel drunk/stoned next time.

B****k**b: You almost made it through that fanfiction reading! Congrats on winning, and I hope you enjoy your prize. You earned it.

Kendra, on 03 May 2012 - 08:46 PM, said:

snip

We researched every version of Oregon Trail we could find, and as far as we could tell, up to about 2007, there are only three versions of the game: The really old Apple II version (which is a little too old-school even for us), the version we used up until this year (which we may break out in a future panel), and the version we used this year. Even though we used 5th Edition, the truth is that 3rd-5th Edition are all pretty much the same game. Who knew Call of Duty got its inspiration from Oregon Trail? (I kid, I kid)

We love having our contestants show off their creativity, but we didn't make it as much of a focus this year. We gave them a lot of freedom in past years, but we made a concerted effort this time around to give them more direction and firm goals. I'm very pleased with how this year turned out.

As for your most important point, QWOP, I make no promises. That isn't a no, but we'll see.

We're trying to make it to other conventions. Youmacon is pretty likely as long as they'll have us. I'm not sure if we'll head anywhere else this year. Sadly, adulthood gets in the way.

[Dark Spellmaster]

As someone who has yet to attend but wishes to, one question regarding the situation, are girls allowed to play as well as guys?

[therobd]

Dark Spellmaster, on 09 May 2012 - 01:36 PM, said:

As someone who has yet to attend but wishes to, one question regarding the situation, are girls allowed to play as well as guys?

Are you kidding? After Mega Man's truffle shuffle, we couldn't keep them away!

Seriously, though, yes. We don't turn away contestants for any reason. Is there any reason why you'd think otherwise?

[Dark Spellmaster]

Nope, just that someone had something simmaler to this many years ago in HighSchool and becuase there was challenges that were physical and such, they didn't let girls participate due to the issue of getting hurt or getting clothing wrecked. Although the name choices are a bit odd. One other question, you said you're going to use the newest version of the game, does that include the whole weakness vs streghts of the different occupations in the game, or is that glossed over?

[therobd]

Dark Spellmaster, on 09 May 2012 - 06:28 PM, said:

Nope, just that someone had something simmaler to this many years ago in HighSchool and becuase there was challenges that were physical and such, they didn't let girls participate due to the issue of getting hurt or getting clothing wrecked. Although the name choices are a bit odd. One other question, you said you're going to use the newest version of the game, does that include the whole weakness vs streghts of the different occupations in the game, or is that glossed over?

The challenges are, um, not really of an athletic nature. Not that there aren't exceptions, but I'm pretty sure the average convention attendee isn't in the best shape in the world. We get a bit juvenile with the names, but it's all in good fun. Our panel is 18+, so it'd be a waste if we just called the contestants by their real names. The occupation is picked pretty much at random. The contestants have a little choice in the matter: They pick one out of a few that we draw out of a hat.

[Dark Spellmaster]

Ah okay, might be fun if you added that in, so that it makes things a bit more interesting if someone were to pull the "poorer" person but have the most advantage in certain aspects of the game and vice versa. Just a thought.