This is undoubtedly the best suggestion I've heard come out of this thread.

This actually was the pre-announcement, so you're safe. The true announcement announcement is coming on Sunday, which may or may not include details of PAPA purchasing the Butler Days Inn.

Also, after the flooding occurred a few years ago, a lot of work was done on the stream banks and bottom... cleaning debris, etc. As EX says, we've had a few major storms go through since and nothing was even close to cresting.

Substitute the word "new" for "younger" and you pretty much have it. Part of the goal is to expand the base for the good of the game.

For those who are interested in pinball-specific things, there will be plenty. For those who want to cross-over, there will be plenty. Including one does not prohibit the other.

You obviously have never seen how exciting the town of Scheveningen can become when the cows are loose.

Each bank of four games will include three groups of four. The games will be spaced wider than before because we now have more space than at any previous pinburgh, meaning more elbow room for players. The groups will start in a slightly different order seed-wise as well to eliminate some previous bottlenecks.

We've been tracking these numbers for two years and have a pretty solid handle on how long things will take and where the problem areas reside.

In the past, all of the groups bottlenecked behind the top seeded group, which became largest timing-related problem we faced. The current arrangement will involve them playing the longest game last, meaning this bottleneck won't be possible. Also, the lower-seeded groups will begin with an open game in front of them, allowing them to move through games at a more natural pace. Add in the extra physical space and time, and things should stay on track similar to in the past.

Also, incidentally, the previous two Pinburghs were test-runs in many ways for 2015. We have a chunk of group specific notes that will help the upcoming festival.

Also, I just wrote a response on the FSPA board in response to some questions that mirror comments I'm seeing here. Hopefully the following will help clear a few things up:

The festival is intended as a comprehensive gameroom / coin-op event, so not everything will be pinball related. This was done intentionally as a way to help spread the game. It is also the required platform for running a pinball-event this large. Or, to put it another way, the previous model was not sustainable over the long term, and the two pathways to success were either contracting or expanding. We chose the latter.

There will be more pinball-related content than at any previous gaming event, so if some prefer to focus on pinball-only, they will still have a tremendous amount to do solely within the world of pinball (The entire PAPA collection plus new games we will be attaining for this event, pinball seminars, pinball side events, and a parts marketplace).

We tried to keep the cost roughly the same for Pinburgh players. We were very conscious of trying to balance this price with what it had been in the past while offering more for the money, and upon seeing much of this event come together so far in the planning stages, I feel like we will be able to accomplish that. In short, we don’t want the expansion to come on the backs of the players. If anything, we’re focusing on offering them a great deal more for their money.

Yes, spectators or other attendees will have to purchase a ticket to attend, but there will also be far more occurring than at any previous event at PAPA HQ, and they will not be required to spend money on tokens, so for many, it will even out.

In the end, we will be offering over 110,000 square feet of things to do, not counting the auditorium for seminars or extra rooms for social events. The primary goal is to help pinball by going large and expanding the base.

I'm sure we won't be able to please everybody, but in the end, I still think we'll put on a pretty fun event that should do a great deal to help the game.

mhs

Oh, also, the PAPA WC will still be taking place at the usual location, so for anyone still interested the traditional PAPA fix, don't worry, it's not going anywhere...

It's an issue we've been working on for quite a while. Without getting into too many details, it will involve a team of professional movers and and a second team of levelers. One thing most people may not realize is we already re-level ~500 games twice a year when we rearrange the facility between events. The timing and effort it takes is significant, but with the right planning and teamwork, it can be done successfully in our current situation.

Hope to see you there ;o)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheveningen

I'm going to start a separate post for this at some point in the future, but this post reminded me... if you run a gaming convention, please contact me. I want to use whatever platform we can build with ReplayFX to help promote other gaming events. If permitted by the organizers, I would like to set out a banner advertisement in a high-traffic area for Louisville, Calx, Expo, TPF, Northwest, Zapcon, Southern-Fried and others in the hopes that we can raise awareness for those events while at our own.

The new situation will offer beer / refreshments in the room, live music, entertainers, a laser show on the ceiling, all of the previous games any many more, and countless other things to do. Admittedly we won't all get to watch the dumpy building across the street and wonder if any more bricks will fall off, but the party atmosphere should survive, if not improve.

As a starting point, we have 110,000 square feet not counting the auditorium and additional rooms we've acquired. It will be an exciting year bringing it all together.

Please do.

Yes. Tailgating happens in Pittsburgh.

http://www.wtae.com/news/luke-bryan-concert-trashed-parking-lots/26607306#!65A63

I'm pretty sure you're not allowed to tailgate in the garage (or any garage anywhere, to be safe). The point of the linked photo is that the DLCC is in the middle of a very active area with a lot to do. If you're inclined to go that route, yes, finding a spot to "tailgate" will be more difficult than stepping out into the parking lot at PAPA HQ (which is also technically illegal) but it's far from impossible. People hang out on the riverwalk, the point, and other areas nearby all the time.

It's Levy Restuarants, the same people who do Heinz Field and PNC park. They will add taps by special request though, which I didn't expect.