The live cd is basicly a linux livecd which runs avast
You can find them for most anti-virus programs
They are a fair bit more affective (in my oppinion) then other programs as you don't load an operating system off a harddrive where your OS is stored.

Oh okay, fair enough.

Maybe it's time they started... it has cost me less every year I renewed. $30 this year. Awesome price.

The point I was trying to make was make it obvious when people register that they should virus scan their pcs before attending. Logic follows that if everyone scans and has clean pc's then the lan would be virus free.
(obviously may be some viruses not picked up due to different AV software), but it still would limit risk to attendees at a LAN

no matter how you look at things if you get a virus its your fault for downloading the wrong thing there is always goin to be stupid ppl getting virus you will never be able to get everyone to scan just act like everyone else has a virus and you should be fine

this is an amazing piece of advice. instead of assuming people have clean computers, assume they don't.

Someone get this man a nobel prize. I don't care which one.

My anti-virus is common sense.
Anything else just slows down my machine.

even with anti-virus some computers will still be damaged because there is no cure for the rage virus

I've been going to respawn for a while now and it's a great event that I always look forward to. Since I am an organiser for a large monthly gaming event (and an extra large annual national) I am fully aware of all the pressures and restrictions that the organisers must face when trying to please everyone. Thus I have tried to cushion my suggestions with potential solutions that would make the admins life easier.

TF2 Problem
TF2 runs stupidly late, even though a lot of people want to play it (more than CSS). It was also single elim which pretty much guarantees that some teams wont have a fun close game. To top it off the prize was less than awe-inspiring, as first place I didn't get much and I'm pretty sure second place didn't get anything at all, they deserved something for being a good team that gave us the closest TF2 Grand Finals we have ever had. The problem is essentially that TF2 was shafted by multiple elements and was not given a chance to shine.

I also noticed that TF2 was delayed largely by a certain racing game with such bad netcode that people were struggling to even see a server... with delays for over an hour.

Solution
Firstly certain racing games that delay everything else should not be played unless it's 90+% certain that whatever the heck was going wrong is now resolved and it can run smoothly.

Secondly TF2 needs to be given the exposure it deserves. I think even a start at 10:30/11 would be exponentially better.

RTS Problem
I did make a small attempt to convey to the admins that I wish we still did a warcraft 3 tournament. I was told that if I could get the numbers then it could be back on. I really liked playing Warcraft 3 at respawn but unfortunately the stupidly early time ruined it for a lot of people.

Solution
RTS is gaining momentum with the upcoming release of Starcraft 2. I propose that we run Warcraft 3 or Age of Conquers (AoK, AoE2, whatever acronym you want for it) starting at around 4pm. With a later start the tournament wont be shafted by a too early start time and will get the numbers needed for a successful tournament.

No one to run it Problem
It's my opinion that the organisers of respawn have enough on their plate already and are probably ready to dismiss my suggestions on such a basis, and justifiably so.

Solution
I have no problems running the brackets for both TF2 and Warcraft 3. I have been running tournaments for years so it's really no problem for me, I know what to do.

Hype Generating Suggestion
Hype is an important ingredient in making a good gaming event a great one.

I'd suggest that you let the grand final match be on the big projector with full sound and commentary. It is an exhilarating experience to have a crowd watching you play. A lot of gamers feed on hype and can pull out their best plays with a crowd, this in turn makes memorable moments. I know this because it has been demonstrated many times at the events that I run. Also there's nothing stopping people who don't want to watch from putting on their headphones and not watching.

We found it very hard to justify a larger prizepool for TF2 for V17 due to a very poor turnout for V16 (think 5 team) even with my scheduling it for 9pm, after the last event we have really seen the potential such a game can have, and as such been re-evaluating our position on it. Scheduling the Comp earlier was imo actually counter productive and lowered the team's participating.

as far as that certain racing game, we have never really ever had any major issues with it in the past. hopefully we dont in future either.



The main reason for taking War3 out of the line-up was dwindling support from the community, with an average of 4-6 people competing due to other comp's getting in the way. running starcraft on the sunday however has been very successful and will continue. I hope to see some big things from SC2 once it's finally released



We did this at V16 with mixed results, whilst we got a few that loved it, we got an equal amount of people that disliked it. again, we are looking into a solution to please both crowd's.

-Dead_Man
Respawn LAN Team

Maybe stream the match video to the projector and have an audio stream people can put to their headphones via their own PC? Dunno if that's possible or not.

I recall most people hating the loud commentary over the hall last time, not so much the video on the projector.

yeah the commentary is annoying watching it is fine but as I.esus said if ya could stream that would be fine

Imho, if we streamed the video, and had an audio stream people could listen to on the EMS or intranet, that would be the 'best of both worlds'.

"RTS Problem
I did make a small attempt to convey to the admins that I wish we still did a warcraft 3 tournament. I was told that if I could get the numbers then it could be back on. I really liked playing Warcraft 3 at respawn but unfortunately the stupidly early time ruined it for a lot of people."


I agree. We once had Red alert 3 comp. We should get that running next lan, even if it is a fun comp

I think one of the other main issues with RTS games is the time required to play a good game can vary quite alot, so it is hard to fit into a tournament timetable, compared to games like CS where you can have a set time when the server will end

That's right priorax, that's why I'm not suggesting TA or Supreme Commander I think Age of Kings might go for too long as well.

However I think running an age of kings FFA fun comp would be mad fun awesome, I'm happy to run this

Warcraft 3 takes about half the time as most RTS games, so it's most suited in my opinion for a tournament.

warcraft 3 just hasnt had the interest ive been goin to respawn since the beginning and it has been on early before and been fine but there is not the interest there once was.
The focus of a lot of players at the moment is towards FPS and thats just a shift of interest. Hopefully starcraft 2 will bring it back as long as there is some kind of work around for lan play.
The original starcraft is the most suited rts to a tournament i think but war3 and aoe3 also good. It worked well as a fun comp and got a bit of interest for something that was done the next morning when most ppl had left.

An enjoyable LAN, plagued only perhaps by issues outside the control of the admins, i.e - Steam, which as mentioned was purely unfortunate timing. Most of the games I wanted to play, I had bought recently through Steam in the sale - just bad luck I guess. However, Sando, thanks a tonne for allowing me to update through your 3G connection. Once this was done, I was able to commence gaming finally!

If it were not for the issues caused by Steam, the LAN would have been quite what I usually expected, just a whole lot of fun

I can't remember if this was mentioned now that I think about it, but a bigger breakky in the morning wouldn't go astray - though I realise this is rather complimentary so thanks for the sausages and bread either way! A hot breakfast always goes down a treat!

I look forward to the next, and hope that Steam can maybe schedule it's updates at another time!

Oh and btw, what was the Lego parody on Youtube being screened on the projector towards the end of the LAN. Been meaning to find it but can't remember what it was called?! Provided many lols

Steam is always annoying - i had forgotten to update before i came and none of my source based games worked so i gave up
Scheduling comps is always a pain because there is so many games, and so little time