TFCon 2015 *Unofficial* Feedback Thread

[Dragon Knight]

Speaking of the dealer's room, I did overhear the hotel staff giving a few of the dealers grief for having their booths blocking exits and doorways.

While this is partially the dealer's fault, I feel like this point of contention really should be brought up to the convention staff themselves as they were the ones whom had the tables set up this way.

That said though, I've been going to TFCon since 2009 and this is easily the best one to date.

[AV Prime]

Originally Posted by Dragon Knight

Speaking of the dealer's room, I did overhear the hotel staff giving a few of the dealers grief for having their booths blocking exits and doorways.

While this is partially the dealer's fault, I feel like this point of contention really should be brought up to the convention staff themselves as they were the ones whom had the tables set up this way.

That said though, I've been going to TFCon since 2009 and this is easily the best one to date.

Actually the floor plan we submit to the venue has ALL the tables placed in away from the walls with 2 chairs in behind them When the vendors arrive they are ones who add shelves or move the tables to "customize" their booths. Fire Safety is a TOP priority and the staff of the venue have every right to make sure the dealers keep exits are clear so god forbid if something should happen we can evacuate properly.

[General Tekno]

Have to say, had a fantastic year. Felt everything was very well run, and the bar menu was fantastic (the aforementioned $10 pizza being a "WOW HOW IS THIS ONLY TEN BUCKS" item; ordered a couple over the weekend to split with people).

Charity auction was well run; some good stuff mixed in there that I paid slightly too much for (but hey, charity) as well as some surprisingly cheap deals. Dealer room was pretty packed; lots of great stuff there, with the highlights being the Chosen Prime booth and the FansProject/A3U/MakeToys booth (having someone there who could answer questions was great; I hope I didn't ask too many while over there). $120 Cupola was definitely the deal of the show, too - WAY cheaper than the one I ordered on BBTS (which I cancelled for store credit that afternoon).

The ATM felt like it was pretty well supplied as well; there was cash there Sunday morning, and though it had run out by the time the dealer room was closing that wasn't too surprising.

As Bruticus82 mentioned, I thought the Cullen panel was pretty well run. Though it does suck that people who weren't in attendance at the panel weren't able to read their questions, I thought the actual question SELECTION was good. I was genuinely surprised at just how MANY people got seats in the room that didn't have VIP passes, too; the panel room didn't look that big.

One thing for next year that'd be nice would be clarifying the parts party board sooner - my understanding was that there were issues with putting the room number up on the corkboard/on a poster (given theoretically that could let people charge to those rooms), and that wasn't properly communicated early on (phone numbers/Twitter handles were fine on the corkboard after all).

How was the steakhouse across the parking lot? A lot of people went there for dinner Sunday night but I didn't really ask anyone (our group just stayed in the bar and ordered a bunch of stuff to share)

Anyway, though I spent a lot on drinks and toys, ultimately TFcon's highlight is getting to see a lot of people again every year. I'm glad to see the con's been as successful as it has, with the only slight drawback to that being there's so many people it's easy to miss spotting particular individuals you know online but have never met in person. But there were a lot of regulars and recurring attendees I was able to at least greet if not converse with at some point, plus the new faces I did get to meet that I knew from the Internet.

Looking forward to next year!

[Iacon]

Originally Posted by Protoman

That would be me

I handle all the TFcon fiction and bios for the exclusives........... we kinda forgot to put the credits and title for the comic this year ^_^'

Hope you liked it!

Yeah, it was pretty cool! Seems like it's becoming an ever-escalating challenge to work in all of the accumulated Con exclusive toys each year into such a short chunk of story, but you infused a solid amount of characterization into the proceedings.

[Iacon]

Originally Posted by Bruticus82

It was a really great idea to clear the room before the Cullen panel, and it was great that you let everyone know in advance both at the start of the third party panel, and at the Friday evening opening ceremony so there was no confusion.

Ah... serves me right for skipping the opening ceremony, then. I retract my earlier quibble...

... though, in future, an asterisk in the schedule specifying which panels will begin with room-clearings would be a nice touch.

[Big Filipino]

So I missed out on much of the festivities having set up a table in the dealer room for the first time but I will say that I was very happy overall with how the show was run and from the looks of it, it was another very successful convention. I thought the dealer room was great and although I didn't get to attend any of the panels, I heard fairly positive feedback all around from those that I know that did attend.

The Cullen signing went smoothly and my only issue (as maybe a few have noted) was in the picture taking process. I think the pics would have turned out nicer if Ian had been positioned more directly in front of the black cloth as opposed to an angle so that the beige wall was not captured. I know some pics from the first day were taken more directly in front of the cloth and turned out ok but I also have seen enough to know that this seemed to be prevalent on day 2. Not looking to bash Ian and his photo skills but just something to be aware of going forward.

Overall I left TFCon with another very positive experience and will continue to make attending this con a priority.

I tip my hat off to Colin and team for pulling it off once again. Already looking forward to next year and possibly Charlotte if I can swing it.

[The_Emperor]

First and foremost, the idea of seated queues was simply brilliant. I arrived very early for my Peter Cullen VIP session on Saturday at 2pm and thought I was going to have to stand in a line for an hour but was very pleased (and certainly relieved) to see that I would actually be able to sit for the entire duration instead. Playing G1 episodes was a cherry on top and helped prevent boredom.

On the other hand, my primary complaint was the process of taking pictures with Peter Cullen...

Originally Posted by Big Filipino

The Cullen signing went smoothly and my only issue (as maybe a few have noted) was in the picture taking process. I think the pics would have turned out nicer if Ian had been position more directly in front of the black cloth as opposed to an angle so that the beige wall was not captured. I know some pics from the first day were taken more directly in front of the cloth and turned out ok but I also have seen enough to know that this seemed to be prevalent on day 2.

QFT

If you're going to charge me to take a photo with a guest, at least try to do a good job at it - or better yet, have it done professionally. What I observed was a "good enough" mentality - blindly point and shoot with little consideration for composition and what should not be in the background... perhaps I'm far more nitpicky than most people and have high standards for what I think constitutes a good photo-op.

There definitely should have been a professional photographer equipped with those colourful backgrounds, just like at the big shows, for this considering the price paid. The lighting was also horrid in that room - add that along with a black background and you're just asking for bad results.

I understand they wanted to get through everyone as quick as possible so instead of telling everyone to have their cameras ready and the need for Ian to adapt to each one, it would have been much more efficient to just have a professional photographer with their camera already set up on a tripod so that it photographs full-body or waist-up shots, without the need to make adjustments in between turns, and tell people to stand on the 'X' mark next to Peter when it's time to take the photo. This would have guaranteed far better results.

Not to mention, I really really hate paying to have a photo taken with my OWN camera...

[Gumby]

I thought that a comic and print were included in the VIP package (as it is with his signings at other shows). Did something there change between ticket announcement and the day of the show?

[Protoman]

Originally Posted by Iacon

Yeah, it was pretty cool! Seems like it's becoming an ever-escalating challenge to work in all of the accumulated Con exclusive toys each year into such a short chunk of story, but you infused a solid amount of characterization into the proceedings.

I try my best. I seem to have a knack for world building and when you have such a great grasp of the characters and can mold the new ones coming in, it leads to some interesting stuff you can tell in 6 pages and some bios

Glad to hear the positive feedback!

Originally Posted by Gumby

I thought that a comic and print were included in the VIP package (as it is with his signings at other shows). Did something there change between ticket announcement and the day of the show?

The comic was free for all attendees but supply is always limited. It has been always like that since 2011 (2010 was the only year it was "for sale" when it was a test idea)

[justprime]

A suggestion on the registration be it dealer or regulsr admission why no make it an actual package by that I mean all the bits and pieces ... lanyard,tag, comic ,wrist band etc in a zip lock baggie then no one misses out on there package gifts a more professional approach.