You left out the URL why? http://replayfx.org/

Edit: sure, ninja edit it in so I look silly. I do fine with that by myself, thanks.

700..players... omggggggggg

So pinburgh is less to enter, and you don't have to pay for games throughout the competition? Wow

160 players qualifying for finals at Pinburgh--yegads.

There's a 100 dollar event entry fee - so 205 total to play in pinburgh, but you get access to everything else.

Right, but it's 100 bucks for a weekend pass to the event.

Ooh, right. So actually a bit more.

Actually it's about the same when you figure $175 entry plus tokens.

Wasn't sure on the token thing, having not attended before.

Can't say I envy whomever is going to ride herd on 700 players.

where is this convention center? downtown or what?

Yes, it's right in downtown Pittsburgh. I might stop by for this.

Yes. Downtown Pittsburgh

It's also right next to a strip club. If you're into that sort of thing.

Parking rates at the convention center garage is $20 per day, or $11 for up to 8 hours. Not too bad, if can carpool.

The same weekend as Gencon???? Noooo!

That was not a good choice.

It will always be on the same weekend as something. Can't win there.

It's over a year away and I already can't wait. Finally get to play a Pinburgh tourney, and the wife is scheming about the Warhol museum, river trail, Carnegie Science Center, etc. Looks there are a lot of great restaurants nearby too. It's gonna be cool to attend a pinball show in the heart of an actual city for once.

I think having this at the convention center is a great choice. There is way more to see and do as opposed to having to travel to Carnegie to the Papa headquarters in the past for events. Pittsburgh is very easy to travel around downtown by foot, and there will be no shortage of things for non-pinball people to do if they come along.

But not another gaming festival within a few hours drive.

I don't get how they are gonna move all these games, and then...

8am – 9am – Pinburgh Machine Testing

Really? Going to test 300+ games in an hour for what...to see if they start a game and count a ball drain?

Yeah, moving all the games there for a weekend event and then moving them back seems like a crazy amount of work. Huge props to the PAPA helpers for doing all that, because the result is sure to be awesome.

Besides tokens at papa do you have to pay the $175 fee if your only a spectator?

Right now PAPA admission is free of charge for non-competitors. At next year's Replay Festival, there's an admission fee for the event like any other show: they have to pay for the room

Be curious to see the room rates and parking expenses incurred while at the event. If staying out of town wonder how the traffic in the area factors in.

Major announcement on a grand scale for sure. Dancing Queen Band "LIVE" seals the deal.

We actually did look at the Gencon dates (and many, many others). In this case, our timing with the DLCC ultimately forced us into this time slot. One of the reasons we weren't extremely concerned is because the conflict with Gencon will only last one year.

The 8-9am testing is primarily just for the players to get accustomed to the floor layout. The games will have been tested all summer, as they normally are. They will also have been on the DLCC floor for two days, leveled, checked, and checked again. In some cases, ironically, I expect this to improve the leveling of the games over the previous Pinburgh situation, where they would be leveled and then sit sometimes for months. When at the DLCC, the floor is also guaranteed to be flat (level) no matter where the game is located (or shifted on its angle due to player nudging), which is not the case at the current facility.

Traffic to and from the DLCC can be good and terrible, depending on the chosen route and time of day. Typically on weekends, it's not as big of an issue. We're currently considering bussing options from some of the same hotels we have used for previous events. More information will be announced on room blocks and bussing when the festival gets closer.

I'm already sitting by my PC to register.

I'd be curious to know what hotels are within walking distance to the DLCC. I am assuming there are not rooms available at DLCC. Correct?

There is a Westin hotel attached to the DLCC and several within walking distance. As mentioned above, we're also looking into options that will include the same hotels the player-base is used to using.

The following page should offer some good information on what is around the area:
http://replayfx.org/location-travel/

Here is a more direct link. Just click on hotels.

http://pittsburghcc.com/map.php

Yup, there are hotels. Courtyard and Hampton are just a few blocks away. However, book early as these are pretty expensive hotels. I stayed at both of these last month (I was working right next to the convention center) and they were never less than $200/night.

The group rates we've been discussing with Visit Pittsburgh are lower than that. I don't have a firm digit yet, but I'd be surprised if attendees were regularly spending $200 a night.

We will have several options prepared when tickets go on sale in a few months.

Why is it being scheduled so close to PAPA WC?

Thanks for mentioning this. I'm glad to hear its taken into consideration!

Papa and Pinburgh are over 4 months apart.

Are you saying PAPA WC 2015 will not be held in August?

"The PAPA 18 World Championships will take place March 11-15, 2015 at PAPA Headquarters. More information will be made available soon."

Holy reversal, Batman!

As soon as I celebrated the separation of Pinburgh from the TPF, they go and move PAPA to the same month.

I think.. I may pass on next year i hate driving in cities and sounds like its going to be very expensive room/car wise. awesome way to grow the sport but I dont think this will be for me. 700 people is crazy large, plus everyone else attending for all the other things. guess ill think on it for a while.

does this mean the papa facility will only be open once a year for the world champs?

As someone who is into pins/vids/console games this is right up my alley. The tough part will be missing out on the other stuff while doing the Pinburgh competition!

Will there be modern console gaming represented or strictly classic stuff?

Makes sense, then. Good info!

I was thinking the opposite. No car needed, there's several hotels right near the convention center. Take the train or the cab from the airport.

Pittsburgh isn't a very expensive city. As was mentioned earlier, hotels will likely be under 200/night.

It's funny because people complained endlessly that Pinburgh was capped at 400 players last year, and people didn't get in because they dropped the ball in registering quickly. Now, they do what it takes to allow for 700(!) players, and people still find a way to complain. You can't win.

How easy is it to just hail cabs on the street in the convention/hotel district, I'm thinking of just using cabs as my primary transportation when I go and avoid the hassle of renting a car.

Is there a good bus system, even better? I'd like to hit up the nearby Rivers casino on Wednesday, maybe Sunday evening

Yes, missing a sub 2 hour window in the middle of a work day is "dropping the ball"

Hailing a taxi cab at the current PAPA facility is virtually impossible. At the convention center, it's not bad. I've been to several events where they line up outside waiting for you.

The bus trip from the convention center to the airport costs less than $5.

Hailing cabs can be hit or miss. But if you want to go the casino, there is a subway from downtown that will take you to right by it. You can also walk from the convention center, it's about a twenty minute walk. I do it all of the time when I'm down there.

Pittsburgh is a really walkable city. The north shore (Heinz field, PNC park, the casino, etc. cet.) is easy to get to from the downtown area.