This was my very first Fanfest and I had a blast. It was an insane whirlwind of noise, stress, cold, a solar eclipse, long-time friends, new friends, spaceships, presentations, roundtables, inane questions, incredible VR, huge crowds, good beer, terrible beer, amazing food, something that gave me the runs Friday night, a chance to be on Eve TV live(!!), and great conversations. It was a collection of incredible moments and it went by way too fast. And I couldn't possibly recommend it more highly. If you have never been before, you really should try to go at least once.
Here are my thoughts about the rest of my Fanfest.
• Norbet Bensel showed up at Fanfest with five huge, incredibly beautiful art books that he had printed featuring my Eve Art. Let me assure you, these books are gorgeous and very, very heavy. And yet he lugged these from Germany to Iceland so that I could sign them for him. And so he could give me one of them as a gift.
I am speechless in the photo above. This gesture was the highlight of Fanfest for me. I don't even have the words to convey, much less summarize, how this gets me right smack in the feels. The book he made for me is currently sitting on a shelf right next to my work area, within arms reach, so that - should I ever feel low or down in the dumps - I can easily reach it and remember this incredible gesture. Thank you Sir.
Here are my thoughts about the rest of my Fanfest.
I am speechless in the photo above. This gesture was the highlight of Fanfest for me. I don't even have the words to convey, much less summarize, how this gets me right smack in the feels. The book he made for me is currently sitting on a shelf right next to my work area, within arms reach, so that - should I ever feel low or down in the dumps - I can easily reach it and remember this incredible gesture. Thank you Sir.
• Trony @UndockRamp made me a 3D printed Daredevil!! Awhile back he asked me on Twitter what my favorite ship was, and of course it is the Daredevil. Every so often he would update me on its progress and how much trouble the ship was giving him. It got to the point where I said, maybe just make a Comet instead. My thought being the Comet would be easier. I don't know how many tries it took him, but eventually he got it to work.
He had an entire small fleet of ships with him and each one was amazing. But I have to say, none more so than my Daredevil. Thank you Sir, the ship is incredible and I will treasure it always. I am still debating if I want to try and paint it or not, I have some more investigating to do about that first.
• Tweetfleet caps, CVA Pins, Crossing Zebra shirts, WCS Stickers, Hydrostatic stickers, pens, more shirts, another cap, I was overwhelmed with the generosity and consideration of all those that took the time, thought and effort to present me with something at Fanfest. Thank you. Sincerely. Each and every one of you. My loot pile was zero before last week and now it is impressive - even for a Pirate.
• WCS. I had several excellent conversations about Warp Cores while at Fanfest. And one funny moment. The funny moment came during the Low Sec FW Roundtable when a gentlemen two seats away from me asked about WCS before I had a chance and Fozzie turned to me and said, "I expected that question from you Rixx!" lol, that was a good moment. My position on WCS is widely known, but I had a great opportunity to discuss the actual issue with Masterplan and we both see eye to eye on the real issue. My point is essentially that the module is a lot like Legacy Code, it has been around since the beginning and needs to be looked at with fresh eyes. I'm not against a module that helps pilots that need help, I am against bad game play mechanics. There should never be a reason to fit all WCS in the low slots of a ship in Eve. That is just bad game play.
• Hats. It is funny that at some point along the line, hats became about hats. The concept of hats on avatars sprung out of Incarna, as a protest against monocles and high-priced in-game merchandise. After Incarna the hats became the symbol for out-of-the-box thinking at CCP, a way to challenge a new regime to challenge the status-quo, to think beyond their means and move Eve into a new era. If you can't find a way to put hats on avatars, then what can you do? And sure, hats on avatars is still a good idea and should happen someday. Especially now, given all that has happened in the three years since Incarna. But it should also continue to be a low-priority item. I had a chance to convey those thoughts to several people, so I'm happy with that.
• I didn't ask a lot of questions during roundtables. To be honest I was having much more success talking with CCP during conversations outside of that environment. In addition, frankly, much of my roundtable experience was not very good. I have to be honest here and say most of the questions asked during roundtables are not very inspiring to say the least. But during the other Low Sec session I did have an interesting and brand new thought regarding the Utility High Slot. Why not consider a few new modules specifically designed for that space? For years we've been throwing Salvagers in there for heat sinks, why not a module specific to that purpose? Once you start thinking down that road, some interesting game play opportunities present themselves. Both Fozzie and Rise seemed open to the potential.
• I managed to get smacked down by Hilmar. During our tour on Wednesday he wasn't in his office, so I missed my chance to meet him. At the Charity dinner I finally found myself standing next to him with a small group. I quickly concocted a rather lame joke and presented it at the earliest opportunity, "I was in your office yesterday and you weren't there sadly. So I sat in your chair and sent a bunch of memos out and banned Warp Core Stabs!" At which point he turned slowly towards me with his steely cold Viking eyes and said, "I know that is not true because I don't have a chair in my office. I stand while working." He went on to discuss the merits of standing while working, but I couldn't hear him because I was only three inches tall!! lol.
We made up later.
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Fanfest is about people. People who all share a single common connection to an amazingly complex community called Eve Online. Being there and feeling it for yourself only reinforces the "behind-the-screen" lives that we all share. I had a chance to meet and talk and laugh and share drinks and stories with so many people that thinking about it only makes my head spin. No matter the background, where you are in-game or out, everyone at Fanfest is there to have a great time.
I can't wait to go back.