The next day began around ten after 7AM, a little late then we had planned. Our in-room alarm clock did a great job not disturbing neighboring rooms, and just as good a job of not bothering us, either. Luckily the Verizon tone I set just-in-case was more than willing to get us going. We hit a nearby McDonald's for a breakfast to go, and arrived at Stompfest shrotly after to finish setting up. Thanks to the kind staff at SF, we were able to drop our equipment off the night before, so all that was left was to hook them up in the harsh chill of an April morning.

 

*Sorry for the lack of pictures, our photos vanished during a server move

The staff's banked karma wouldn't be enough to spare them from the Internet issues that plague so many LANs these days. The first few hours saw a hit-and-miss connection, allowing for about twenty minutes of Internet access countered but just as much, if not more, offline. This was especially brutal when paired with an increased reliance on Steam, which can be picky and then some when it comes to launching in offline mode. A few matches of the original Modern Warfare and some socializing saw the problem's resolution, and we were soon engaged in Team Fortress 2, Left 4 Dead 1 & 2, and some Counter-Strike. FPS somewhat dominated, as it is famous for, but RTS and even some racing put up a good fight, with plenty of Warcraft III being played between a ladder tournament and Defense of the Ancients mod.

We were also thrilled to see Wes' good friend at Western Digital, Heather, who was showing off some of WD's new hard drives, including the recently reviewed Velicoraptor. Heather also scored one of our new hats, which she wore proudly. We tried to hook them up with some gaming, but their laptop got the dreaded blue screen of death shortly after, and despite our best efforts, we couldn't fix it then and there.

The cafe' we saw the night before turned out to be everything we hoped for and more, selling dollar hot dogs, nachos, and other hand foods as well as caffeine products to keep us fueled. The locale was also aplenty with restaurants and fast food should the craving for a Big Mac, or Steak N' Shake in our case, arise. The temperature did get much more comfortable throughout the day, with plenty of computers and excitement from the giveaways to heat the building. At least until night began to fall once again, and the cold crept in like an unwelcome spy, sapping our body temperatures. When we finally called it a night around one, hanging in for one last unofficial Left 4 Dead 2 tournament that unfortunately never took off, they were still plenty of gamers going strong.

We stopped off for an after midnight snack at our new favorite restaurant, then back to the room to relax, watch some Texas Hold 'Em, and talk about what we liked and didn't so much care for, in hopes for improving our own LAN. Regardless of any quarks that may have arised, the first official day of StompFest went very well, and with plenty of gaming and prizes left over for the final day, we're anxious to almost miss our alarm again in the morning.

Author Bio
Lersar
Author: Lersar
Contributing Editor / Event Staff
Adam is a big proponent of LAN parties, esports and speed-running, and helps organize our semi-annual LAN events. He has covered hardware and software reviews of a wide variety, but most content these days come from event coverage, such as other LAN parties.

Log in to comment

We have 1599 guests and no members online

supportus