Out of Game Events and Gatherings

If you're coming in from outside the US, get your ESTA approval from the government site only. you don't need to pay a third party for it.

thanks for the tip.... that will come in handy..... coming from new jersey.... totally cant wait!!!!!!!

Hello all,
So I've been debating on going to either Fanfest 2015 or EveVegas 2014 and while I would love to go to Fanfest the thought of between 2.5 and 3k Dollars is a bit much for a father of 4 with a mortgage and what not . Anyway I was wondering how EveVegas stacked up to Fanfest is it close, kind close or so far out of the ballpark that it doesn't even compare? Basically looking for presentations and metagaming/networking/making new friends. Thanks for the response and info.

Thanks for the input, I guess what i am trying to say is the trip to Iceland really worth the extra cash or not.......

I attended Eve Vegas last year and had an absolute blast! Loved the roundtables, the presentations, the PVP room, everything! I thought the buffet was excellent (although two lines or having the carving station be a separate line is an excellent suggestion). In fact, I thought the food was of generally good to excellent quality and quantity throughout the event.

The swag was particularly awesome, I really wasn't expecting to receive so much :stuff: ... my Apoc model now has a permanent place of honor on the dashboard of my motorhome ;)

I loved the size of it... small enough to feel like we could actually interact with most everyone else attending, but big enough to keep busy and feel interesting and entertaining. Contacts with the devs was particularly excellent, especially in the roundtables where I felt like there enough time for everyone who wanted to say something or share an idea could do so, and also feel like we were really interacting with the devs and being heard.

My suggestions/complaints are minor:

1. The roundtable rooms were quite far away from the main presentation rooms, which made no sense since there were rooms exactly or nearly the same size that were empty and practically next door.

2. On the day after the party, the first presentation started at 10am, and hotel staff pulled the coffee table out of the main presentation room at 11am. One hour of coffee service - especially after an awesome party - is criminal.

3. The party bus's ran out of bottled water after the second or third pub; especially in Vegas's dry air, bottled water while drinking is a priority.

4. It'd be nice to have a sign-up sheet for Valkyrie (assuming you bring it there again this year), that way we can mingle around, join in some of the PVP matches, attend presentations, or go and get something to eat instead of having to stand on line for 2 or 3 hours, missing presentations. Valkyrie was ABSOLUTELY worth the wait in line, but I hated missing two presentations I really wanted to attend, and asking someone to "hold my space" in line for an hour or so just isn't fair to those who did stay in line. You could number the pages, then when you are down to the last group of five on the first page, make an announcement that all people on Page No. 16 (or whatever) please come to PVP room now, where we would then line up as we arrive in response to the announcement (that way you're not holding spots for people who couldn't be bothered to pay attention to the announcement, and those who are paying attention will get in line for that page's signups and not have to wait more than 15 minutes or so).

5. More water in all the rooms! Several roundtables I attended did not have enough cups or water pitchers to last beyond the first 15-20 minutes. Ya, I'm thirsty....

6. Schedule of events/agenda absolutely MUST be made available far, far, far earlier. Releasing the schedule of events four days before the start of the event was just silly... plus, if you release it further in advance, you'll likely increase attendance! (You can always change the schedule around, add things to it, etc., after its initial release, after all!)

I thoroughly enjoyed Eve Vegas last year, and absolutely will be going to it again this year. It went far beyond my expectations, all the Eve Vegas volunteers and CCP devs were simply brilliant, and meeting IRL so many people I've exploded or exploded me was simply sublime.

Hope this helps!

GG

Looking forward to this year. For me it's what you take home that leaves the best impression. =)

EDIT: Saw you guys at the 2013 E3 and I got a chance to play Eve Valkyrie. I hope that you guys bring it along again.