wow that is really awesome, to bad there really isnt anything to that level in the states, at least nothing I have seen thus far, only time I see something that large is LAN Events, not a dedicated location, dont get me wrong we have out Lan gaming places and all but no where near this quality or that size... correct me if Im wrong though ^_^, so nice.
I went to 3 LAN centres with other people who reccomended them to me personally, the first time it was OK, but a power cut halfway through and they refused to refund me.
Went a second time I paid for a machine because they were in Sheffield and I had to bus it up there, so I paid £80ish (I was a student and that was fairly expensive) for a machine for the weekend. One of the top ones, 2GB RAM, top of the line graphics card, 19" CRT. This was when I was in year 13 I think, so a few years back. The machine I ended up using was 512MB, midrange graphics and I couldn't play UT2004 (which we were there to play) on the 1280x1024 res I was used to. I was also told that food was included over the phone, or we could go to the local Tesco and buy food. When I arrived I was charged on top for the food then told that I couldn't bring my own food inside, I could eat it outside though. But it rained.
The final one was a local one, start-up company. I paid £100 for a years membership and they closed after 2 months.
Certainly sounds promising, they appear to have spent enough money on it in the first place, which is extremely important imo. Too many start up ideas like this don't get the right amount of money spent on them in the first place because the founders are scared of it failing, and inevitably it does. But this has been done well, the huge coverage it's had (BBC News front page at one point) will ensure at least a large number of people try it out, lets just hope the experience continues to live up to the hype.
I'm surprised they only had 1 Wii, playing a Wii on a 70" projector screen I thought would be a MASSIVE selling point, though they may be limited by space.
I loled at the 30 360s and the 2 PS3s though. Poor Sony.
You wouldn't happen to know where I can get one of those chairs do you? They look really nice and would go well to replace this now, knackered Argos special ;)
It does look good and I hate to sound negative but it's days are numbered ( I really do hope I'm wrong though).
The main trouble with lan centers I believe is that they do inevitably turn into compost heaps - nice term Joe! New lan centers gleam, nice equipment with great services. With all of the new hardware, flashing lights and great service it somehow masks the horrendous stench that wafts from so many of the punters.
The cleaning crew's do an incredible job in the beginning, however after a couple of months they start slipping. I have lost count of how many times I have needed to be reseated because of cigarette ash all over the chairs, crisps or sweets jammed in the keyboard and horrendous gooey substances all over the table. The same can be said for some of the mouse mats which never get cleaned, making tracking impossible because of the sticky rings left by spilled coke cans.
As for the stench, well that's another thing I never understood. These places tend to be warm and often the AC is inadequate if it even exists and the BO factor is multiplied 10 fold. Why do people in these places never wash?
I really do hope that Omega Sektor can rectify these issues because lan centers can be so much fun. I believe that so much of the success is based on their ability to keep the place clean, fresh and by maintaining their dedication to placing customers first.
Originally Posted by zr_ox As for the stench, well that's another thing I never understood. These places tend to be warm and often the AC is inadequate if it even exists and the BO factor is multiplied 10 fold. Why do people in these places never wash?
I really do hope that Omega Sektor can rectify these issues because lan centers can be so much fun. I believe that so much of the success is based on their ability to keep the place clean, fresh and by maintaining their dedication to placing customers first.
Good luck Omega Sektor
Ha! smell a Chinese net bar! you panzy! Health inspector? what's that!?
Ash trey, garbage can, and spit jar? You foolish westerner, in Chinese we call that a Flloooorrr..
These nerd theme parks are missing one thing..... chairs with built in sanitation piping...? Jeez.
"a game I now refuse to punctuate properly"
42 characters. as opposed to like 7 dots needing to be inserted twice in the article?
A shameful attempt at being lazy.
Looks like fun.
Pity I won't ever go there, I prefer my small LAN arrangements, with 4 or more mates.
Good times.
EDIT: Does the name put anyone else off from going there? It's like laser quest, it sounds like only geeky shits that reek of BO and have never met a woman visit the place. I mean, for God's sake, give it a more inviting name.
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Nice article, but I've had bad experience with LAN centres in the past.
Went a second time I paid for a machine because they were in Sheffield and I had to bus it up there, so I paid £80ish (I was a student and that was fairly expensive) for a machine for the weekend. One of the top ones, 2GB RAM, top of the line graphics card, 19" CRT. This was when I was in year 13 I think, so a few years back. The machine I ended up using was 512MB, midrange graphics and I couldn't play UT2004 (which we were there to play) on the 1280x1024 res I was used to. I was also told that food was included over the phone, or we could go to the local Tesco and buy food. When I arrived I was charged on top for the food then told that I couldn't bring my own food inside, I could eat it outside though. But it rained.
The final one was a local one, start-up company. I paid £100 for a years membership and they closed after 2 months.
Nice review as always
Sam
Unlikely, those kinds of places need a huge population to draw income from.
I'm surprised they only had 1 Wii, playing a Wii on a 70" projector screen I thought would be a MASSIVE selling point, though they may be limited by space.
I loled at the 30 360s and the 2 PS3s though. Poor Sony.
The main trouble with lan centers I believe is that they do inevitably turn into compost heaps - nice term Joe! New lan centers gleam, nice equipment with great services. With all of the new hardware, flashing lights and great service it somehow masks the horrendous stench that wafts from so many of the punters.
The cleaning crew's do an incredible job in the beginning, however after a couple of months they start slipping. I have lost count of how many times I have needed to be reseated because of cigarette ash all over the chairs, crisps or sweets jammed in the keyboard and horrendous gooey substances all over the table. The same can be said for some of the mouse mats which never get cleaned, making tracking impossible because of the sticky rings left by spilled coke cans.
As for the stench, well that's another thing I never understood. These places tend to be warm and often the AC is inadequate if it even exists and the BO factor is multiplied 10 fold. Why do people in these places never wash?
I really do hope that Omega Sektor can rectify these issues because lan centers can be so much fun. I believe that so much of the success is based on their ability to keep the place clean, fresh and by maintaining their dedication to placing customers first.
Good luck Omega Sektor
And yet, as much as I liked Seph, I find myself deeply ambivalent about most of FFVII, and with a distinct dislike of Tifa...
Ha! smell a Chinese net bar! you panzy! Health inspector? what's that!?
Ash trey, garbage can, and spit jar? You foolish westerner, in Chinese we call that a Flloooorrr..
These nerd theme parks are missing one thing..... chairs with built in sanitation piping...? Jeez.
Did you guys catch the opening times?
9am - 11pm Sun :)
Boy that was a quick answer, cheers Tim. May pop down tonight, seeing a mate after so long, would be fun to catch up and play some games.
You said it was free for two days. When is it again... Yesterday and today?
thanks.
No all night-ing? what kind of nerd theme park is that? Can you at least pay the staff in ilegal narcotics?
interesting article. Hope they do well.
42 characters. as opposed to like 7 dots needing to be inserted twice in the article?
A shameful attempt at being lazy.
Pity I won't ever go there, I prefer my small LAN arrangements, with 4 or more mates.
Good times.
EDIT: Does the name put anyone else off from going there? It's like laser quest, it sounds like only geeky shits that reek of BO and have never met a woman visit the place. I mean, for God's sake, give it a more inviting name.
As do I.
Not to mention I'm in North America.