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Possibly no gencon 2008
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Author:  dargo6998 [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:51 am ]
Post subject:  Possibly no gencon 2008

I have seen post on wotc site about gencon in chapter 11 and that there has not been a single wotc event posted in the gencon big book of events. This would be a a jor disapointment for myself since i have taken vacation time from work to attend a amazing event. Anybody else have any comments or thoughts on this?

Author:  jhc36 [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

Yeah, I'm in the same predicament. I've already bought my four day badge and booked a hotel room. I'm not sure what is going to happen.

Author:  Xffan_2000 [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

Geeze. Not cool. :?

Since I'm pretty much "stuck" going (having already dropped a ton of money into the trip), it may very well be my last GenCon if there's no SWM to be played.

At the very least, maybe some of us who are still going (will anybody still go without SWM???) could get together for some pick-up games.

<sigh> :cry:

Author:  LoboStele [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

I'm 95% sure this is all just doom and gloom. Boris and Moses have been working with Pasttimes and WOTC, pretty heavily from what I understand, to put together the events for this year. I highly doubt WOTC will pass up an opportunity to make a ton of money on the KOTOR set by releasing it there at the convention. GenCon LLC has said multiple times that filing Chapter 11 in regard to the stuff with the Lucasfilm suit will have no impact on the GenCon Indy convention. IMO, the Customer Service people are just giving out a CYA answer to make people leave them alone. How many other times have people sent messages to CS and got good answers from them? LOL. If anything, you should be emailing DCI or Pasttimes, not WOTC's CS.

Hopefully Moses or Boris will pipe in, but I'm pretty sure we don't have anything to worry about. If you're fretting about buying event tickets and such, as far as I can remember, the only things that sold out quickly last year anyways were some of the RPG campaign things. All the minis events had plenty of space, even up to the day of the events.

Author:  jhc36 [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

LoboStele wrote:
I'm 95% sure this is all just doom and gloom. Boris and Moses have been working with Pasttimes and WOTC, pretty heavily from what I understand, to put together the events for this year. I highly doubt WOTC will pass up an opportunity to make a ton of money on the KOTOR set by releasing it there at the convention. GenCon LLC has said multiple times that filing Chapter 11 in regard to the stuff with the Lucasfilm suit will have no impact on the GenCon Indy convention...


Yeah that's what I kind of figure. But nonetheless, if somehow the swm championships doesn't happen I'll be there with my squad to play with those that do end up coming.

Author:  Drift [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 7:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

There is still a ton of stuff to do in Indy and at the convention. I do hope that there are SWM in some capacity though.

Author:  Xffan_2000 [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:24 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

I wrote to WotC Customer Service this morning and "Joe" responded to me tonight. This is what he wrote in its entirety (pretty much a repeat from the Wizards forum), for what it's worth:

WotC Customer Service wrote:
Wizards and GenCon FAQ:

Q: Why are there no D&D or Wizards events on the schedule posted for Gen Con at http://www.gencon.com?

A: Wizards had not submitted a schedule of events by the Gen Con deadline. Since we hadn’t submitted our own schedule, none of our events are in the official Gen Con schedule at this time.

Q: Will Wizards attend Gen Con in 2008?

A: As you may be aware, Gen Con is currently in chapter 11 bankruptcy. Wizards’ plans relative to Gen Con are dependent on the course of proceedings in US bankruptcy court. While we hope to participate in Gen Con, we must await further proceedings in the bankruptcy matter before we are able to confirm our plans.

Q: You previously announced that [Living Forgotten Realms/D&D Miniatures Championship/any other event] would be at Gen Con. Is that still true?

A: We are committed to our specific programs, such as the launch of Living Forgotten Realms and the D&D Miniatures Championship. Those events will take place in some form. However, as we cannot make a general prediction about our relationship with Gen Con, we likewise can’t make any pronouncements yet about a specific program. Keep visiting http://www.wizards.com for the most up-to-date information about our events and programs.

Good Gaming!

Author:  jhc36 [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

i don't know why they can't say whether or not they will be hosting a championship. Pretty lame they keep us consumers and fans in the dark, especially considering how well the sw mini championship did last year. I would hate to be able to make it to gencon and not compete because it wasn't held.

Author:  Grand Moff Boris [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

I'm concerned about the way the FAQ reads. It sounds very non-commital to me, like they know something the rest of us don't.

I thought Chapter 11 bankruptcy was about moving bad debt to one (isolated) division and then getting rid of it, but it sounds like someone thinks that until it's completely resolved, the show may be cancelled.

I can't believe WotC would go to a lot of trouble for phony posturing just to strongarm the issue.

Author:  Grand Moff Boris [ Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

LoboStele wrote:
I'm 95% sure this is all just doom and gloom. Boris and Moses have been working with Pasttimes and WOTC, pretty heavily from what I understand, to put together the events for this year. I highly doubt WOTC will pass up an opportunity to make a ton of money on the KOTOR set by releasing it there at the convention. GenCon LLC has said multiple times that filing Chapter 11 in regard to the stuff with the Lucasfilm suit will have no impact on the GenCon Indy convention. IMO, the Customer Service people are just giving out a CYA answer to make people leave them alone. How many other times have people sent messages to CS and got good answers from them? LOL. If anything, you should be emailing DCI or Pasttimes, not WOTC's CS.


Yes, e-mail DCI. Do it now. Tell WotC you are coming to play in the SWM events, including the Championship (this is the advice of "Darth Ted," the guy who types in all caps on WotC; He has a connection to Pasttimes, so I'm sure he had his reasons for saying it - even if I don't know what they are).

Quote:
Hopefully Moses or Boris will pipe in, but I'm pretty sure we don't have anything to worry about. If you're fretting about buying event tickets and such, as far as I can remember, the only things that sold out quickly last year anyways were some of the RPG campaign things. All the minis events had plenty of space, even up to the day of the events.


I am not really all that involved at this point. I made my recommendations to Moses for the event schedule, and have agreed to help him judge WotC/Pasttimes-sponsored events, but that is the extent of my involvement. I doubt Moses will be coming on here anytime soon to post, not until after everything is resolved. I wish I could tell you more but I can't.

Author:  jhc36 [ Tue Apr 22, 2008 12:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

This is getting a bit scary... :?

Author:  dvader831 [ Tue Apr 22, 2008 1:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

This truly helps . . .
Quote:
Hello All,

This is Alan Hochman from Pastimes. I just want to let you know that though events are NOT posted yet, they are created and it is Pastimes every desire to host these events for you at Gen Con. Jim (Moses) and I are in constant contact and we will be certain to let everyone know about events as soon as possible.

Everyone's patience and dedication is appreciated.

Author:  Fox [ Tue Apr 22, 2008 2:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

Grand Moff Boris wrote:
I can't believe WotC would go to a lot of trouble for phony posturing just to strongarm the issue.


Wizo's.. nah.. not thier style. Hasbro.. OH HELL YEAH. Hasbro's lawyers are a bit infamous for locking down everyone's mouths when thier's a legal dispute.

Now given the mass rampant confusion there's been this last year with no DCI head of mini's.. that might explain why they were late on filing a schedules.

Author:  Grand Moff Boris [ Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:05 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

Fox wrote:
Now given the mass rampant confusion there's been this last year with no DCI head of mini's.. that might explain why they were late on filing a schedules.


Well sure if you want to ignore their own statements and try to make excuses for them. They make it very clear why they haven't filed a list of events yet.

As for Alan's post, it doesn't say anything I haven't already said. Pastimes is very excited about hosting events for SWM at GenCon, and Jim is excited about being the head judge. But WotC hasn't made ANY commitment to anybody yet, and Alan's post points that out, too.

Patience is important, I agree, but it doesn't mean ignoring what's going on, either.

Author:  dvader831 [ Tue Apr 29, 2008 9:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

And a new, more recent message from Alan over on the Gencon Forums:

Quote:
Hello All,

Alan from Pastimes here. I wanted to try to clarify a few points.

First, of course we would like to be hosting events at Gen Con - it is an amazingly crazy and fun time. It is also a tremendous experience for judges to learn how to help out with so many different types of events.

Second, the delay regarding posting of events is not actually on Pastimes. Wizards of the Coast and Gen Con have some things to work out... and all the players as well as the Pastimes staff and volunteers are kind of stuck in the middle. BUT... I think we are closing in. Gen Con and Wizards are both comitted to providing the maximum play environment in Indy - and hopefully we will all see some updates soon.

Third, we obviously are always trying to give everyone the best experience possible. With over 4,000 entries into events at Gen Con, not everyone is going to walk away happy - but we really do try. If you ever have a frustrating experience, I would definitely suggest doing one or two of the following:

1. Find myself or whoever is the Tournament Manager on shift. I am usually there from about 8 a.m. until midnight - sometimes later. Let us know what is going on. It is tough to know that something needs to be fixed if we are not told about it. Sometimes we can do something - sometimes not - but we can always try.

2. Volunteer!! If you think things should be done differently, help make a change. You can do this by e-mailing us at info@pastimes.net - but most importantly you can help your fellow players by suiting up and helping judge their events (though you may find it is not as easy as you think!!). If you are interested, check out http://www.pastimes.net/volunteer.htm - we are always looking for great people.

Finally, there is one benefit to our schedule not being finalized yet - we can still make some changes!! We have a loaded schedule set for this year (fingers crossed) and we think you will be really happy with some of the new events (remember the new one last year? - did you play in that insane Grand Melee?!?). BUT, if you have some suggestions - drop me a line and we can try to add it!

Thanks for everyones' patience - we think it will be worth the wait!

See you in August!!

Alan Hochman
Pastimes



More of the same stuff, but with a more "rose colored glasses" view :)

Author:  Grand Moff Boris [ Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

I couldn't find where Alan posted, but in my search I did come across this on Tracy Hickman's website:

http://p098.ezboard.com/Wizards-of-the- ... D=81.topic

Here's what he had to say:

Quote:
It would be largely speculation on my part but I do not believe for a moment that this has anything to do with Gencon Bankruptcy hearings at all.

Even if there were concerns regarding whether Gencon Indy would be held or not -- I personally believe it will -- but even if there were concerns, what would be the harm in submitting events now? If the convention were to be held, you would want those events in place from the beginning; if the convention folded its tent then what have you lost but a few hours submitting events? There would have been no big financial commitment and you would hurt yourself worse by not submitting events and then finding that the convention was being held than if you did submit events and then the convention ended up closing.

I believe this is part and parcel of something bigger going on behind the scenes that is connected BOTH to their adamant cancellation of 'Hourglass Mage' AND to their pulling out of Gencon. Both are being done on excuses which do not even pass the laugh test.

Tracy Hickman


In the April 22 podcast on his site, he talks about why the book was cancelled - sort of. It's all very cryptic, and it's obvious he's trying to be careful not to piss WotC off further, since he still works with them on other book projects, but the gist of it is that WotC wanted something from the book that he and Margaret Weis weren't willing to do as writers and so WotC simply cancelled the book.

The fact that he says the decision not to attend Gen Con may be connected to the Hourglass Mage issue, and having some insight into why it was cancelled, it simply becomes a trick of connecting the dots. What is really going on here?

Author:  dvader831 [ Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

Grand Moff Boris wrote:
What is really going on here?

That, my friend, is the $5000 question!!!!

Author:  jhc36 [ Mon May 12, 2008 6:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

so is there any new news?

Author:  Sithdragon13 [ Sat May 17, 2008 10:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

It looks like Wizards will indeed be at Gencon. It was just posted on wizards that Chris Perkins posted the following on his blog:
Quote:
I learned that we are, indeed, goin' to Gen Con! Clearly, one of the big thrusts of the show will be 4E. We have a cap on the number of R&D people we can send, and I *did* attend last year, so I'm not sure whether I'll be attending this year. I should know in the next few days, one way or the other.


That SHOULD mean SWM is in business.

Author:  Grand Moff Boris [ Sat May 17, 2008 11:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Possibly no gencon 2008

Sithdragon13 wrote:
It looks like Wizards will indeed be at Gencon. It was just posted on wizards that Chris Perkins posted the following on his blog:
Quote:
I learned that we are, indeed, goin' to Gen Con! Clearly, one of the big thrusts of the show will be 4E. We have a cap on the number of R&D people we can send, and I *did* attend last year, so I'm not sure whether I'll be attending this year. I should know in the next few days, one way or the other.


That SHOULD mean SWM is in business.


I was just on my way over here to post what I found, but you beat me to it.

I wouldn't get my hopes up just yet about SWM. We still need to hear from Pastimes on if they got the deal or not. Time is running out.

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