Oh, really? You surveyed them all? Oh, wait. And of course you know a) how I play, b) how I GM, and c) have had experience with me in either?

No? You're talking out of your asshole? Ah.... I see.

Apparently by your measure I am a dumbshit for caring more about my players and having fun than about covering my own ass as a GM for some half-assed con tourney.

And of course, this is measured by... not one single shred of actual knowledge. Which is kind of the course for Dumpshock, so I'm not exactly surprised to see someone who I've never even seen before online talk shit about me and my gaming style.

Pefectly logical. Perfectly normal. Perfectly full of shit.

Surveyed them all, no.

Do I have eyes and see many of the same faces that I see there year after year. Of course.

Have I talked to many of these players or played with them year after year? Yep.

There's a reason many of the same players keep participating every year. They have fun. Or are you going to ascribe to the even more unlogical and unlikely reason that they are all masochists? (Well, we all do play Shadowrun, so I guess that term applies a bit to us all.)

You are correct; I don't actually know your gamestyle, nor do I know you. I have read in these posts the things you take great pains to express about your attitudes about the game and the things you would have done or others should have done in regards to a tournament you didn't participate in. I know from these things you have said, and the personality you seem to exhibit, that I am thankful I have never had to play in one of your games or had to play alongside you as a player.

Further more, as I finished reading more of the thread, I discovered other posters (none of which I know, since as you pointed out, I am a new poster) whose comments made me somewhat respectful of their thought processes and beliefs. The majority of which seem to find you a buffoon or a blowhard and basically not worth much of any thought beyond "Oh, look the pissed off monkey is typing again. Isn't that cute?"

I still hold that attempting to salvage a game by playing your character, not bickering with the GM once it is clear that they are doing things a certain way and trying to jsut enjoy playing for the sake of playing is what roleplaying is all about. Figuring out what you can do within the context of the situation instead of griping because the situation isn't what you would have made it were you in charge is what makes a game a game.

I acknowledge again that it sounds like Ghost got hosed this tournament, mostly by a bad GM. I feel for him. I have had as bad a thing happen to me before in a Tournament. What I appreciate about Ghost: he stuck it out, hoped for it to improve, tried to have fun anyway and tried to be constructive with his criticism once he managed to blow off a little well-deserved steam here. I hope he gives the SR Gencon Tourney at least one more chance and listens to others that have played over the years that tell him that his experience was about as bad as it can get, and that really, most of the time it's a lot, lot better. He seems like the kind of player I would enjoy running with.

Vlad

This IMO invalidates most of what SL James has to say in the first place. These forums, like most others are full of people who just LOVE to chime in about things they weren't involved in so they can rant and preach their opinions to the masses.

A-frigging-men.

Typical sour grapes.

Vlad seems to have hit the nail on the head for me.

Before anyone takes a bite at Vlad, being "new" on the forums and all. That means absolutely nothing. I may have a post-count that is small in comparison to some, but I've been a part of the SR community since almost the beginning, and seen blowhards come and go.

It gets real old having folks chime in and rant about shit they weren't even a part of, and stirring shit up is all they are good for. I for one would like to listen to those who were actually THERE, and try and make the situation better, as opposed to rabblerousers who like to hear themselves talk.

The problem is: you don't.
You tried finding excuses for obvious problems that were detailed neutrally.

I am Federal Marshall Nelson. *flips out badge with one hand while leaning on his cane* Don't worry; I am not a field agent.

Vlad

Yes it does, but on the other hand I really shouldn't have popped in out of nowhere and taken a potshot at SL John. Not saying I feel horrible about it, as I have been bouncing around and reading many of his posts elsewehere. He does have lots of things to offer and isn't a stupid man. Just could use a little work on his personality, as could we all.

As you said, he wasn't there, though. People had fun at this tournament. It seems like Ghost's group didn't, but I know that others did. It wasn't perfect, nor was it the best I have been at. But fun was to be had. I guess we all look at gaming in different ways. For me, as the primary GM for my home group, I just really dig the chance to let my hair down and PLAY. I really enjoy being able to play with others in a situation where I can play, where I don't have to worry about stepping on "regulars" toes or that they will take character actions personally. I've found that a majority of the guys at the SR Tourney are their private group's GM for that game at least. They know the rules. (This year was also affected by being 4th edition. Everyone was hazier on the rules. I expect that to be a lot smoother by next year.) They understand game mechanics and roleplaying in general. You couldn't ask for a better bunch of players.

There are things that could be improved at the Tourney, believe me:

-Someone on this thread posted an idea that hit the mark pretty well, about having the first session start earlier (tho' I would suggest having it run an hour longer, even if it is "unofficially.") I enjoyed this year how they forced the GM's to wrap up the sessions in a timely manner. I was expecting to have it go into the wee hours like it always had before.

-The GMing can be spotty. I have had some truly horrible GMs in the past, ones that didn't know hte game or didn't know the scenario that we were playing at all. I understand that it's hard to get GM's for the event. I have thought about volunteering more than once, but as I said above, Gencon is my one chance really to let my hair down and play. So I try not to feel too guilty about enjoying it. That is why I am always respectful of my GMs. Most of them do work hard and are doing a job that I don't want to do, not right then, anyway.

- Better rotating GM communication. There are a variety of solutions to this, none of which will solve problems entirely. But a mandatory half hour meeting between the night's previous GM and the new GM would solve a lot. How do you enforce this, I don't know. I liked hte idea that each player do a few paragraph write up of the scenario they had jsut played, hitting all the high points, mentioning anything that seemed really important. This would help the new GM know what happened from the players perspective and would also clue them in on any players misunderstandings of previous events. Keep it small and succinct. No more than maybe 150-200 words per player.

There are loads of ways the Tourney could be improved. But I still think it is completely enjoyable as it stands. Obviously. I keep attending.

Vlad

How would you know?
For one, I was present and played in the tournament (had a blast mind you). I was also around when these events were designed, pieced together and prepared for play. (except the tournament files, which I had to keep my nose out of, else it would ruin the fun)
In addition, I wasn't in the running for any awards because I was at a table with all former GMs and experienced players, so we were excluded from any considerations. Maybe that is part of why we had a blast: we were free of any concern over winning.

In addition to THAT, being among the folks who help support these events, I take the information presented here very seriously. There have been some important things brought up that will assist in making the con games even better (and the folks that run these things are very much aware of this whole thread). In contrast SL James has not been helpful, simply chiming in as usual to raise hell and spout off at the mouth. This simply muddies the water.

I for one would like to separate the wheat from the chaff, keep the valid 1st person accounts and sort out the heresay and generic opinion-slinging.

Because I listened(well, read) to what Ghostfire posted, and which suggestions for improvement were implied by his criticism:

• Do enough research concerning the scenario to represent it accordingly.
• When handing out prepared PC, make sure they have the abilities to fullfill their roles.
• Make sure communication is maintained between rotating GMs, so no critical informations gets lost on change of shift.

Good to hear that, as it didn't sound so on the first glance.

Only if you let it.

It's an open forum, man - everyone is free to drop by and comment on the subject, based on the information presented here.
Though this may be second-hand information, it adds additional PoVs from people not directly emotionally involved.