Well, we’re a week removed from SOE Live 2014.. Good times, meh times, not-so-good times. Here’s my take! Please note that this is not a convention breakdown, this is simply the thoughts on my experiences.
The Bad!
- Not much in the way of bad this year, honestly. We had a good time.
- Food Prices.
- Last year, “Dailies Planet Hollywood” was the place to eat – this year.. their menu was cut, while prices where almost twice that of last year. Needless to say, we didn’t eat there more than once. Elquin says the coffee sucks too, I’m not a coffee drinker, so I have no idea.
- All and all, Food was more expensive across the board. We had to shop around for reasonable places to go. I spent more on food than anything else.
- Next year.. we’re actually going to camp the McDonald’s down the street.
- The Stage
- Mark Tuttle was much improved this year, and we spoke to him, got to know him a little.. as a person I think he’s a good guy. However, I’m still on the fence about his hosting the event.
- The jokes were kind of sophomoric, and at one point, he played on an old Sam Kinison bit. Someone left their phone number up on the message board for his friends to contact him.. Mark saw fit to show this number live on the Twitch stream, while he attempted to call the number. OK as long as the owner of the phone had a sense of humor, but at the same time, this could bring some legal repercussions for SOE if the owner of that number gets upset with the thousands of people Mark just shared that number with.
- INJURY!! At the end of the Player Got Talent segment, some lunatic grabbed Mark Tuttle, threw him back into a “Dip” and (fake) Kissed him!! We now understand that act re-injured Mark’s, already, hurt back.. ummm.. it was me.. I am so sorry.. Honestly, I have a bad back, myself, and man.. dude, I am so sorry..
- Mark Tuttle was much improved this year, and we spoke to him, got to know him a little.. as a person I think he’s a good guy. However, I’m still on the fence about his hosting the event.
The Meh!
- Vendors
- There were almost no vendors this year, I understand that GenCon was going on at the same time, but really, there was hardly anything going on.
- I remember the first “FanFaire” I attended.. many vendors, lots to do.. this year.. you had the SOE Store and a couple authors.. but that was about it.
The Good!
- The trip!
- Believe it or not, our flight was great. No delays, plenty of room, got to see WWE Wrestler “Ryback” on the plane. We were sitting behind someone else going to the event and he shared a towncar to Planet Hollywood with us – I can tell you that’s a lot better than getting squished into a long shuttle ride.
- Getting to see old friends!
- This is really the reason I go to SOE Events. I got to see a lot of old friends – some that we see every year, and some that seemingly dropped from the face of the earth, that showed up unexpectedly! It was great to see “Coyote” from Ten Ton Hammer again, along with all our friends at SOE Live.. former and current guildmates, and of course.. The Dellmon: former host of the “EQ2’s Day” Show, which gave me my start in podcasting.
- The Food
- The Grand Banquet on our final night was exquisite. Absolutely fantastic – thank you SOE for putting so much into the event. We’ve come a long way from the Taco Buffet, some years ago.
- This year, we expanded our meals outside of Planet Hollywood and found a few places, we’ll definitely go back to.
- Cheeseburger Hollywood – Really good breakfast for low cost.
- PBR Rock Bar – Oh.. My.. GAWD.. that steak was great!
- The Show
- Our friend Doug took us to see “Zombie Burlesque” at the V Theater. WOW, that was freaking incredible. I highly recommend it to anyone with a good sense of humor, and a dirty mind, hehe
- HAIL KITHICOR!
- As part of the next expansion, EverQuest II will see a return to Kithicor’s Forest!
- We attended the EQII keynotes, sat right up front. We heard them speak of adventures in the “Shattered Sea” – Elquin squeaked, but I know that’s just the name of the ocean between the Antonica and d’Lere landmasses.
- A few minutes later.. The Phantom Sea.. I grabbed Elquin’s shoulder.. we know what lays in the Phantom Sea.. oh my gawd.. oh my gawd.. oh my gawd.. oh my gawd..
- KITHICOR’S FOREST!! We screamed like school girls! No one else in the room reacted like this.. and for good reason.. when EQII was in beta, my ONLY question to the dev team was.. “Where the hell is Kithicor’s Forest??”. We recieved this reply from the Loremaster VHalen:
Veiled by the constant downpour of the sea known as the Phantom Sea, rests a little isle feared by those who are unfortunate enough to know of its existence. This isle is known by seafarers and avoided for the countless fears that rest on the isle. A dense woodland that swallows this forest isle shields what lies within and only one end offers access to those who dare step foot upon the land. Seafaring tales hint at what may rest inside the thicket.
Some tales say that during the day it would seem to be a lifeless land. The land is uneven and trails are like mazes between clearings. Some say a fort of rangers long dead exists far to the end of the isle. It would take nearly a day to trek to and from the fort if one was lucky to correctly navigate the trails. Trees are now long dead and those that have leaves offer little color to the environment. No birds are heard chirping. No deer are seen galloping. It is dead.
In the evening this becomes even truer. At night the ground is breached by hands of bone of two undead armies rising again to do battle under the moonlight. It is during this time that no one wishes to be caught upon this little isle of horror.
- The Talent!
- On the last night, I participated in the “Player Got Talent” show, singing my old song “Fippy Darkpaw“, along with Winter, Lilith, ShoLeave and Andoran – After hearing Andoran on his sax, I figured that it was a done deal, and I was just thankful for the opportunity to finally perform in front of a live audience. To my surprise, when the revealed the results of the voting, I won (by a landslide)! I thank all my friends, fans and all those who voted!
- The Costumes
- This year the Cosplay was kicked up a notch. The costumes were absolutely incredible. See the photos in the gallery, at the bottom of the page.
- The Hill Giant!
- This year, I decided to make myown costume – not for the contest, but just for fun, and FUN it was!
- I challenged all comers as I walked around the convention area, those who bested the Giant received a hand full of Gold Coins – Children received inflatable swords and some even a treasure chest. It was the most fun I’ve had in years, and I’m glad I did it. I made kids smile and gave them memories to relive, as their parents took video and pictures. The Giant will return next year, that’s for sure! and with More Gold!!
What to see the Photos we took this year? Click HERE to see my Facebook Album!
