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NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:38 am
by Joemanji
Hi all,

Thanks for attending this year's NAF Championship. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves, but if you have any feedback then please post below. As ever, it is possible to leave positive feedback so that we know something has gone well and we should continue doing it.

Cheers
Joe

Re: NACC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:49 am
by RoterSternHochdahl
Things that have gone well:

1) My matches :D
2) Overall tournament administration/venue and so on - you guys just know what you are doing and I would like to thank everybody contributing to this great event for a third time

On events like this (also on Dungeonbowl which is a good bit smaller) it strikes me that we are still on a pen & paper format when it comes to administrating results and I'd like to reiterate the idea of giving players a digital form to enter/confirm results

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 8:58 am
by Oly1987
Great weekend as usual, big props to the organisers. Keep it up!

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:09 am
by TheDoc
THE GOOD (and there was plenty of it):
(1) As expected Joe and the team did a great job for admin and getting the hotel/venue/food at such a good price.
(2) The matches were good and every coach I played was friendly (I'd like to get some more TD's in the future though :D)
(3) Tritex games is always good and makes me buy more shiny stuff.

My only bad point:
(1) I saw at least two teams unpainted or just undercoated - disappointing when the rules pack states they must be painted.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:11 am
by J_Bone
I had some abysmal games but a great weekend. I've got a lot of respect for the organisers. Fantastic tournament and I will be back for next year. I only have two minor things to mention:

1. The dinner meal on the Saturday was pretty bland and unenjoyable again. I know it must be hard for them to cook for that amount of people but I've been to other hotels where they've been able to prepare better food for more people.

2. There were a few sketchy rosters and unpainted / barely painted teams knocking about. I'm well on my way to learning the majority of the teams now but there are still a selection that I don't see that often and when people don't have a proper roster with the stats and skills on it I feel like it isn't really fair on their opponents. And I never like to play against a team that's just black primered causing you to have to tell positionals apart from their silhouettes. I know it's mentioned in the rules pack but I'd like to see people either held to that standard or penalised for not meeting it. That sort of stuff really spoils the fun for me.

Like I said though, two minor things in an otherwise stunning weekend.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:37 am
by Mr Frodo
Positives:

1)Great event and even better given the numbers of coaches you were having to deal with.

2) I really like the venue, it's spacious and clean and it's right next to the hotel. Makes it feel like a gaming theme park, especially when all the games are running in the evening in the bar.

3) The positive friendly vibe was evident in all my games and combined with us travelling as a group, I had a brilliant time.

Only minor niggles:

1) The venue seemed really warm on Saturday and really cold on Sunday, All the coaches around me in the first couple of games noticed it. We all had cut down to t-shirts for day two and were feeling it.
2) The food on Saturday night. As said above it was bland, and also I had an slight issue with the choice. Both meals were dairy based and I have some dairy allergies...and when I asked about ingredients the serving staff didn't have a clue (even though the sign said to ask about dietary requirements).
These were venue issues, but I thought I would mention it here, and I will reiterate that I think the venue is a great choice for the event.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:44 am
by Oly1987
My apologies for one of the above as I took a barely painted team. I will work on getting them up to scratch for next year my only problem was I didn't want to take my humans and work constraints meant I was running very short on time.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 9:50 am
by sann0638
Oly1987 wrote:My apologies for one of the above as I took a barely painted team. I will work on getting them up to scratch for next year my only problem was I didn't want to take my humans and work constraints meant I was running very short on time.
Ask to borrow one next time? This would be my general advice, given that there are 150 people there. :D

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:12 am
by HairyPete77
Firstly thanks to everyone involved in the tournament - organisers, refs, players, the lot. It was really good fun.

I'd like to add:-

1/ Tables - The tables were a little too wide and boards were being passed across or resulted in some dress code violations. Some of the tables weren't flat as well which made things interesting. The table clothes were a nice touch but did move around too much by the end of the two days. Yeah, I'm fussy ;-) On the plus side there was lots of room between the rows of tables and at each board. The white cloth also helped make sure dice and tokens weren't lost.

2/ Food - I didn't have the evening meal, but the lunch on both days was pretty awful. On the second day my bag didn't have a sandwich in, which may have been a blessing given the soggy mess that I had on the first day.

3/ Venue - Love the venue. I stayed at the hotel and it was well worth it. Good location for most people, I'd imagine too. Was also nice to have the bar, clean toilets and people clearing up glasses. Did think that the lighting was a little dim though.

4/ Rosters & Miniatures - I noticed scribbled rosters as well as unpainted miniatures. The rules say that miniatures need to be painted and they should be enforced. It's not nice to see unpainted figures and isn't fair on those that make the effort. There are lots of roster templates online and it's simple enough to print something out.

5/ Communication - I'd have liked to have had a projector to show the draw and current CAS and TD leaders etc. It was nice to have everything posted online and I ended up using this rather than looking at the printouts. It would have been nice too if we could have had name badges. It was my first NAFC and although I knew a few people from the local tournaments there were lots of people that I'd have liked to say hello to but only knew their TFF/Twitter name. It would be nice to help those of us that haven't been playing the game for years.

6/ Gift - I know budgets and numbers are different, but the NAFC gift doesn't stand up against the NAF gift in terms of quality. It's also a different style (although in keeping with previous years). I think the stuff from the NAF should be similar quality and style.

Don't get me wrong I really enjoyed it, had brilliant games and it has got me buzzing for painting some new teams and playing some more Star Players.

Thanks for a great weekend. I'm already looking forward to next year :)

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:14 am
by Purplegoo
Oly, I would be surprised if anyone took issue with your miniatures. Whilst the paint job was minimalist, it could be argued it was thematic, and it was clear what each model represented.

Nothing but impressed positivity from me. What has been achieved on the budget available at that scale is phenomenal work. Long may we continue to be so lucky.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:35 am
by layers6036
No one has mentioned the good atmosphere and how friendly all the coaches are yet so I will. I only play TT occasionally and have to lean on my opposition to remind me to roll armour, allow me to take back wrong moves etc. and I think we should acknowledge how well the organisers and attendees all keep it welcoming to new players, despite the scale.

Otherwise just echo all the positives about the venue. Tritex was a nice touch and I spent money there... there's room for more stands, be good to see more stand and / or bring buy and barter for members. I missed being able to buy old NAF dice and would like to see the NAF stand return next year - and having the ability to buy from the organisers of other NAF events would be good too for those of us who dont know who is who to trade with on the circuit.

Food-wise lunch was fine but the dinner left a lot to be desired in quantity and quality. I'd rather not pay for it as part of a package next year. The hotel bar is excellent and having it all on one site keeps everything easy and maintains the nice atmosphere.

A big score board would be a nice touch and if you really wanted to push the boat out a Go-Pro or similar over the top table that could be played on the screen would be excellent. Also give you something to watch in the breaks or after you've finished a match.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 10:59 am
by mubo
I think the event was fantastic, my first year at the EMCC, and was really impressed. The venue was fantastic, good transport links, really spacious, clean, and good facilities.

I have to say I really don't get the complaints (ok then: feedback) with the food. A range of sandwiches, crisps, chocolate and fruit. Perfect. Evening meal was good too, it was pretty tasty and you got a plateful. I think people maybe have to rein in their expectations a little. I have had nicer food, and bigger portions, sure. A cheapish conference venue will typically charge £40 a day per delegate including lunch. We got dinner too, and that's before you even consider the other costs to the NAF, including the gift.

A huge thanks to the people mainly Joe, Paul and Jim (but I'm sure others too), who freely gave up their time to arrange this event- you guys did a great job.

I was one of the guilty roster people who scribbled it out, so apologies for that... I'll do better next time. I know some of us who go to a lot of tournaments know the rosters really well, so just saying "13 man undead roster, 2 skeletons, fans, sure hands + block ghoul, guard wight" is enough. Although I appreciate not everyone is in that boat, so next year will improve.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 11:04 am
by lunchmoney
The Good
- Sorting the hotel deal again: I assume the prepayment the hotel asked for was to stop us being bumped like in 2014. If it wasn’t and the hotel just operate that way now, then happy coincidence.
- Venue: I really like it there. Having the hotel on site is a good thing.
- Organisation: I knew what was happening and when. Good job, chaps. :)
- Not knowing who won an hour early. Last year I knew the final winner long before the other matches had ended and it kind of ruined the surprise for me. This year I was unaware of the winners of anything until the final announcements. I don’t know if this was due to the results not being leaked or just me not hearing them, but either is good for me :)
- The bar bill: when I settled up in the morning I’m sure they undercharged me :lol:
- The Newcomers award: Brilliant, keep it up!
- The rule about models being "appropriate for people of all ages" is very welcomed :)
- Might just be me, but I thought the announcements were better this year.
- Reroll token was very nice


The Bad
- The round times were clearly laid out in the rules pack and the time announcements were very clear throughout the weekend. Yet I saw several matches run over. I know clocks were issued, but I saw one match, that the refs were aware of, that had not finished at a deadline and allowed to play out to the end. Surely part of the skill of BB is playing to the correct timescale? A 2 hours 15 minutes match should be 2 hours 15 minutes, not 2 hours 28 minutes.
- The food was once again a little bland. This hasnt changed in 3 years, so my comments on the last 2 feedback threads are still valid.
- Venue tables are too wide. Again this has been mentioned in previous years and I can understand that is what the venue has. But if we had just one table, rather than two put together, would it really be an issue to put the dugouts to the side of the pitch and maybe only have 8 pitches on a row of tables?


The Ugly
- The rules pack clearly states "There is no restriction on what miniatures you use in
your team as long as they are miniatures (not proxies) and are
painted
, clearly identifiable and appropriate for people of all ages." Several non-painted teams were present. Not sure what you can do to enforce that on the day, maybe dock a point, but why have the rule if it's not enforced?
- I would like to see the "appropriate for people of all ages" applied to the Duel Competition as well. Once the inappropriate/tasteless entries were removed there was one clear winner (Witch Elf jaw punching an Orc, iirc, on the large block dice).


The Rest
- I can understand pre-registering a race and team name, to help speed up Score! entry, but why request the roster if you are just going to check them on the morning?
- Think Green: By emailing the roster to you, in an agreed format (this can be done by maybe having a form/XL spreadsheet made just for the occasion and asking everyone to use it), or even better use the NAF website to have coaches submit rosters online (the NAF IT wizards must surely be able to create a module that can be used for tournaments?), you won’t need a printed copy on the day - Saves paper! And by disallowing electronic copies, on tablets or phones, you are again requiring people to waste paper. Think of the environment :)


Just want to reiterate that I am always impressed with the tournament and I will be back. Keep it up :)

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 11:09 am
by sann0638
Purplegoo wrote:Oly, I would be surprised if anyone took issue with your miniatures. Whilst the paint job was minimalist, it could be argued it was thematic, and it was clear what each model represented.
There were other examples - one goblin team was just undercoated white.

Re: NAFC 2015 Feedback thread

Posted: Tue May 26, 2015 11:24 am
by J_Bone
Mr Frodo wrote:The food on Saturday night. .. I had an slight issue with the choice. Both meals were dairy based and I have some dairy allergies...and when I asked about ingredients the serving staff didn't have a clue (even though the sign said to ask about dietary requirements)
That's a good point actually... I did witness a guy in front of me state that he was vegan and the guy at the counter just kind of pointed to the 'V' on the menu and handed him a plate of the gnocci which I would be very surprised to find out was vegan. The guy didn't argue it (I think language may have been an issue as I noticed that English wasn't the first language of either the server or the player) but I could see he was quite uncomfortable about the situation. Maybe ask for the vegetarian option to be vegan next year?