N00b's Guide
From StreetGeek Wiki
Greetings young grasshopper! So you'd like to spend the occasional weekend mucking around with good mates, playing some fun games and just generally having a good time. more time playing the coolest games vs. the coolest people? Don't we all. Lucky for us we have StreetGeek LAN Parties to spice up our gaming schedule! This page contains a few words of wisdom about all the ins and outs of LANning.You'll learn what to expect at the LAN, what to do, what to bring and the like. Everyone's welcome at StreetGeek, young and old, l33+ (experienced) and n00b (inexperienced) alike. StreetGeek tries to foster a distinctly non-competitive atmosphere. So, if you are the national Korean champion at StarCraft and are looking for a challenge, this is probably the wrong LAN for you. On the other hand, if you are the Korean champion at StarCraft and you are looking for a good time, this is probably the perfect LAN for you! You can always check this page for upcoming LAN details. The box at the top left of the page shows you a countdown 'til the next event. We hold exactly 12 LANs every year, and try to schedule them on or near the second Friday of each month. Events usually run from 7pm on Friday 'til 9pm on Saturday, of a total of 26 hours. Special occasions, of course, call for marathon LANs of up to 42 hours.
Contents |
Seating and Registration
Please register for each LAN that you plan on attending. Early registration greatly assists us in planning the events. About 7 to 10 days before each event, a confirmation email will be sent out asking you to confirm your registration. When you confirm your registration, you have the opportunity to select a seat. For regular members, we will try to hold on to your seat until 8pm on the Friday night. If you have not arrived by this time, your seat may be reallocated. Supermembers are able to book seats at registration, and Super members' seats are reserved for the entirety of the LAN, but they forfeit their spleen if they confirm and don't show up. If you will be arriving late, arrange for a friend to pay for your seat when they arrive. 'Reserved' signs are available for seats that have been paid for. Seats that have been paid for and which have a 'Reserved' sign will be held for the whole LAN. Likewise, if you go home overnight and take your PC/console with you, ask for a 'Reserved' sign so that your seat will not be reallocated overnight. On the day
Your Seat
Members with allocated seating tickets will be supplied with:
- one seat
- a 2.5 ft to 3 ft width table area
- one power point
- one gigabit network socket on the switch
Power Allocation
Power allocation is pretty tight at StreetGeek, we're running pretty close to the capacity of the building's power supply. As such, we ask that you have plugged in at any time:
- No more than 1 CRT monitor or 2 small LCD monitors (<=24") or 1 large LCD monitor (>24")
- No more than 2 computing devices. Each of the following counts as a computing device:
- Desktop
- Server
- Console
- Notebook
- NAS device - large NAS devices use as much power as a small computer
Note that UPS devices are not permitted. UPS devices draw substantial power when recharging, therefore putting increased strain on power allocation.
If you are not using your secondary computing device, please switch it off where possible to reduce power load.
If we do have a problem with the power circuits, users of multiple devices and multiple monitors will be asked to switch them off to reduce load.
Note that you are permitted to use only 1 ethernet socket on the switch and 1 power outlet. If you have multiple devices requiring power, you must bring your own powerboard. If you have multiple devices requiring a wired network connection, you must bring your own switch. Note that you may have any number of devices connected to the wireless network.
What to bring
For the Allocated Seating area:
- 5m or longer Cat5e or Cat6 network cable. Available at the Progress Bar for $12.
- Computer or Console (If you rock multiple devices, carefully read the section on Power Allocation)
- Monitor (If you rock multiple monitors, carefully read the section on Power Allocation)
- Power board
- Kettle cables
- Keyboard, mouse
- Headphones (For your comfort, speakers are not permitted in the Allocated Seating area)
- Chair (if you prefer your own chair)
For the Social area:
- Consoles
- Controllers
- Televisions (We have a small number of TVs for you to use, but bring your own if you can!)
- Speakers (Speakers are permitted only in the social area)
- Games
- Board games
Everyone:
- Movies
- Warm clothing
- Sleeping gear
- Toiletries (Please bring deodorant!)
- Monies for ticket and supplies
What not to bring
- Alcohol
- Fans or heaters
Arrival
Regular StreetGeek events at CLGUC run from 7pm on the Friday night til 9pm on the Saturday night. Doors to the foyer will be opened at 6pm, and ticket sales start at 6:30, but entry to the ticketed areas will not be permitted until 7pm. If you have booked a seat, it will be held for you until 8pm. Please do not enter a ticketed area without a ticket. This includes parents, etc. You may be asked to leave, and refused entry.
For events held at other venues, opening times may vary, but the same pattern applies. Foyer doors open 1 hour prior to the scheduled event start time, ticket sales open shortly thereafter. Booked seats will be held for the first hour of the event.
Prizes
Prizes are donated by sponsors and purchased by us on behalf of our sponsors.
Tournament Prizes
Tournament prizes are frequently awarded from the Ledger of Win. Prizes will be held for you for 3 months, after which time the prize will be returned to the prize pool.
Door Prizes
At the closing ceremony of each event, door prizes will be awarded. Door prizes are awarded to attendees randomly selected from the list of tickets sold. Minor prizes are often also awarded throughout the event.
Ledger of Win
The Ledger of Win is a book listing the prizes available for you to choose from. The Ledger is organised by Tier, where Tier 1 is the highest valued, down to Tier 4.
Internet
At all events, your Internet connection runs through an authentication portal. When you open your browser, you should be automatically redirected to the portal. If the redirection does not work, type in internet to your browser address bar. Use your StreetGeek username and password (the same one you use on the forums) to log in.
You have a limited quota. Once you've used your quota once, you get one "reset" that you can activate yourself on the portal page.
All Internet usage works through the portal: VPN, UDP, TCP, whatever, and it all counts on your quota.
Certain types of content are unmetered, and do not count on your quota. The StreetGeek website and the Adam Internet Steam content server are unmetered.
Internet Connection Technical Details
For events held at the Colonel Light Gardens Uniting Church, we employ an Adam Internet ADSL2+ connection which syncs at a consistent 8mbps.
For events held at the Goodwood Community Centre, we employ an Adam Internet WiMAX connection which syncs at a consistent 6mbps.
Forums
Before posting in the forums, read the Forum Rules. There is also an FAQ post, but it's a little dated. There is a StreetGeek User account on the forums. Any important info will come from this account. The most important forum sections are:
- Upcoming LAN - info and discussion relevant to the next LAN
- StreetGeek Stuff - info more broadly related to the event
- Trading Post - Buy and sell your gear
- General Chitchat - General chitchat
- I'm bored - Kill some time and some braincells. Silly games are played here.
Promotions
Current promotions:
- 10.08 (August) is RetroLAN, and marks the screening date of StreetGeek Viral. Get your entry in to win your share of $400!
- 10.10 (October) is StreetGeek "X".
- 10.10 Also marks the close of the Logo Quest. Your creation could win you $100 cash!
- 10.11 (November) is n00bvember - If you've never been to a StreetGeek before, your ticket to n00bvember is free!
What sort of people attend StreetGeek?
The majority of StreetGeek Lanners are in the range of 18 to 30 years of age. Males outnumber females by about 3 to 1. A typical member is a non-competitive gamer for the most part, playing casually in a variety of games, spending around 4 hours per week gaming. Income level spans a large range. Roughly half of our members are full time University students.
