First timer FAQ


I am by no means a fraga veteran or whatever; I’ve been there once. But I feel a got a pretty good grasp on how things work. This is the typical questions I think most noobies are wondering, mostly ones I was thinking last year.


When you arrive:

So if you were nearly as excited as me, you probably got pulled over on your way to the event but now you are finally there. If you show first thing on the Thursday morning, go for a quick stroll inside so you know where you are going before you start bringing gear in. If you get here right for 9, you’ll have to wait in line, as people will be lined up. If you are as nerdy as me, it’s actually the best line you’ll ever wait in.

Registration:

The staff will give you your cool pass (try not to rip it off the first day) with your name. You need that to get in and out – don’t lose it. They’ll check your list of gear, which you should already have filled out and give you your ID stickers for your tower and monitor. Make sure you have ID with you when you get to the front.

Now go find your spot and set up. Might as well introduce yourself to other people around where you’re sitting seeing as they’re your friends for the next 4 days.

* I will post a link to the gear form when it’s uploaded

Seating:

Most people I found are quite reasonable about seating. If you and your friend were like me last year and reg’d late and couldn’t get a seat beside your friend – don’t fret. People don’t mind moving down a seat or whatever, and some won’t mind switching places all together. If you’re there early before people get situated you might have better success.




Sleeping Arrangements

Don’t come thinking you are going to stay up the whole time, because you won’t.

Sleeping under tables: It's not allowed. I know it might sound all awesome to sleep under a table, but it’s not ideal – trust me. See post below by Cova for an explanation.

Tent City: Typically there is an area to set up a tent. There should be more information posted on this, I don’t know too much about this seeing as I never went out there. I would say if you are going to bring a tent, have something to hold it down, or tear it down. You don’t want to be the guy hearing “Whoever’s tent is outside blowing away, you might wanna go get it” over the intercom. This is probably the best option besides going home or a hotel.

I slept on a cot in the corner of the field and there were a few other people there with air mattress and stuff, a lot better than sleeping under tables I’d say.





What to bring:

There is a list already in the http://www.fragapalooza.com/site/sitepages/about/ section, but I’m going to try and expand on that a little.

Food and drinks: This part really is up to you, but generally I think most people end up bringing stack food and a good amount of drinks. Most people still end up eating out pretty much every meal.

Software CD’s: I think a lot of people overlook this but it’s worth the 4 minutes putting them in your bag. It saves you having to download a game off steam, or trying to find someone else with a disc if you just have yours. Downloading isn’t good for anyone and it will just make your non-gaming time longer. Games fuck up a lot – so bring your discs.

Chair: I didn’t bring my own last year due to space, if you have room bring your own. The ones there are not bad, but after a few hours / days it’s worth the time to bring it. It can also be nice rolling your computer in the line up.





Showering: Pretty straight forward, you can use the showers in the change rooms. There are 6 rooms I believe, so yes you can lock the door if you want. You can also use the pool showers but you got to pay for those. Please shower at least once throughout the event. It’s free so twice wouldn’t be a bad idea either.

Minors: This is an all-ages event. The waivers are posted usually later. You will need to get that signed – do it before hand.

Rides: While writing this I came up with an idea: Why don’t we set up an irc channel for people to car pool for food and stuff? Gas prices are expected to get even higher, so that might be a good idea. I’m going to make another post about that and update this.

Dual Monitors: The rule about bringing two monitors is simple: You want to use two monitors - you pay for two spots. As much as your spot may have room, there are power concerns. You really don’t need to have two monitors for the weekend either.

Side Note: If you like movies and programs and stuff, bring an extra hard drive or two. If you have a file server with stuff you would want to share bring that too. But there is a lot of stuff you can quite a lot faster than torrenting.



I know I'm missing a lot of things, post what needs to be added and if you have a question just ask. I'm on here just about everyday so I'll try to keep this updated.

Good info - I just wanted to post quick and clear this part up.

Sleeping under the tables is NOT allowed. That space is where a lot of power and network cables are run, and is where the power distribution boxes are located. Especially those distribution boxes and even the power cables do put off a significant amount of heat and they need airflow or there will be power problems.
They aren't so hot that they need fans and whatnot - but if you pile your blankets/sleeping bag on top of them (whether at night when you're sleeping, or during the day when you shove it under there to get it out of the way) it can cause problems. And there's also the obvious issue of people accidentally kicking cords out of their sockets while they roll in their sleep etc. Sleeping in the aisle's is also against the rules, as it is against fire code if there is an emergency. So please - plan to sleep at least a little farther away from your seat. Around the outside of the venue or in tent-city are good free options.

Also keep in mind that Fragapalooza runs non-stop from when we open on Thursday till we close on Sunday. You may want to get a good rest for a tournament early the next morning, but others will be gaming all night, people will be playing rock-band on the projector screens at 5 AM, and the staff will be doing random contests both on the internal IRC and the PA system at various strange hours. I remember last year we had a 3 AM wheelbarrow races that were not quiet at all. I don't know what to expect over the nights this year yet - but I know I wouldn't plan to be able to sleep through it without at least a days worth of sleep-deprivation first. Not saying you can't sleep in the venue, just don't complain if it ends up being loud.

Awesome FAQ wish i had this last year!!

Don't really have anything to add since alot of it has been covered all ready.

This goes for triple and multi-row monitors as well from what I've heard. The reasoning is because you are allowed to use TWO power sockets with the purchase of one seat, one for your computer tower, the other for your monitor/TV. You only get about 4 feet of space since you're sharing a table that's approximately 8 feet long.

• If your monitors are going to take up more than 4 feet of horizontal space you need to purchase another seat.
• If you need more than two power sockets (for additional monitors) you need to purchase another seat.
• I'm fairly confident that if you purchase two seats and have a 3x2 or 3x3 monitor setup you'll be allowed to use all of your monitors since they use less power than a tower. I talked to someone last year with a 3x3 setup and I'm pretty sure he said he only paid for two seats. - Staff confirmation please?

Couple of other things, I know should be obvious, but since this is an all ages event, no liquor is allowed. As well there is a full service licensed restaurant in the Leduc Rec Center, and the Fraga staff warned people that if they cam back drunk, they would not be allowed entry.

Also no watching that awesome 1080p 3D porn you just pulled of someones box on the network!!

3D porn?? What an age we live in...

If it wasnt for porn there would be no internet.

the founders of ARPANET might disagree

oh they knew.

ASCII porn was everywhere.

they might disagree but that doesn't make it a false statement.

ASCII porn? Oh please...............


Then again, porn is porn

if people can get off to feet im sure people can get off to dirty text hahaha

One other thing, and Sphincter posted this in another topic, but ill put it here. Please, no torrenting. It kills the network speed. Show is providing more speed this year, but all it takes is one person torrenting, and all that great speed is gone.