[Baldie]

Friends,

While it's fresh in all our minds if you have any feedback be it positive or constructive criticism about your experience of ACL Sydney please fire away. Just don't ask about ACL Melbourne - we will let you know anything on that as it becomes available - we are aware of your desire for one.

As many of you know it was our largest event we have ever done under the ACL brand. To put it into perspective we were running 180 devices simultaneously over 6 titles. I'll attempt to answer any questions you have and clarify things if necessary.

Thank you to all of you who made the effort to attend the event - your presence was welcomed!

[ThatGuyDoMo]

I think it was a spectacular event. People will probably mention how delayed the first day was for the bro bracket, I imagine you have probably conceptually rectified the cause of this in preparation for next ACL (unless it was simply unavoidable).

The only thing I can possibly poke a stick at is perhaps the (at least it seemed to me) lack of crowd shots on the Sunday during down time? I remember on Saturday there being a lot more crowd shots during the downtime between matches whereas on Sunday they were predominately overlays etc.

[inFeZa]

Quick short straight to the point.

Pros:
Best ACL it's ever been, the spectator experience was great, actually felt like a proper show put on for the people watching.
The stage set up was fantastic, Casters on-stage, MC to guide the show, player intros etc.
Venue.
Easy access to food/drink.
Great chill out Hearthstone Area.
Exciting games/competition

Cons: unfortunate event clash with IEM (nothing can really be done)
Poor Stage lighting.
Not enough spectators convinced to come watch the event.
Dubstep.

[Pox]

Needed more spook. Other than that it was pretty great. The main stage was a great experience as both a player and a spectator - there were no issues with shaky desks, bad soundproofing or the like. Production quality seemed really good from what I saw. Didn't run too far behind schedule (pls ban mech to fix all delays ).

My only complaint is the open bracket seeding - I'm not sure how it was done, but Blysk and Fighto got screwed over pretty hard. It's obviously a subjective issue but I think anyone who knows anything about our competitive scene would agree the brackets were very lopsided.

Quick Comments

Blysk:

><

[Maynarde]

This was the greatest ACL by a fair margin imo. Here's my personal good / bad list ft. possible fixes. Keep in mind some of the bad was just unfortunate and couldn't be avoided for the most part.

GOOD:

• Having an MC, stage, the interviews, post game analysis, and mates of starcraft trailer were good ideas to alleviate downtime and have great crowd interaction.
• Stage admin was great keeping casters in the know and keeping players organized.
• The spectator experience was the best yet, could hear the cast and see the game from anywhere in the theater which was comfortable and near a bar aw yiss.
• Good rotation of very decent player casters.
• A well admin'd tournament, would've been pretty tough so was quite impressive that all went smoothly even with some PC's not working on arrival.
• Even though there were spikes, the games were still the most lag-less games we've ever had. (on stage, not sure about OB area).
• The players could play without hearing commentators (except for that one time).
• The crowd was great and I wish the people watching could have gotten a good idea of the amount of people we actually had there.

BAD:

• Still too much downtime compared to other more major events, got better on Sunday but was very slow on Saturday and early Sunday.
  POSSIBLE FIX: More admins. The more people who can organize a pair of players while a stage game is underway = good.
• Not clashing with a major event woulda been schweeeeeeet (I'm not counting TI and DH because they were not in our timezone, IEM was though)
  POSSIBLE FIX: Keeping in touch with the major tournament organizers (mainly Carmac, no other SC2 circuit really comes to our Asian timezone) on a regular basis.
• There were 100+ people in the crowd and the stream only heard 5 even though we had a crowd mic.
  POSSIBLE FIX: More crowd mics in more places.

Much love, once again great event I had an amazing time and everyone I talked to there said the same thing great work lads.

Quick Comments

ACL VaNzR:

Booked this venue in Oct 2013. I'm pretty sure PRIOR to IEM's plans almost

[syfMightyKiwi]

Originally Posted by ToRPox

My only complaint is the open bracket seeding - I'm not sure how it was done, but Blysk and Fighto got screwed over pretty hard. It's obviously a subjective issue but I think anyone who knows anything about our competitive scene would agree the brackets were very lopsided.

This was the biggest issue in my opinion, perhaps should have looked at using the OSC points to seed the open bracket to avoid this?

Quick Comments

	syfPhoenix:	I feel like this would've been nice or something.
	Blysk:	><
	ACL VaNzR:	ACL exists for a reason. Don't compete in our tournaments, don't get a good seed. Understand for non ANZ players though

[Metalcore]

I watched ACL at home.

So here is my feedback.

Cons:
- Poor stage lighting. This really got on my nerves as the event went on. Better lighting would of made it look so much more sharp and professional imo.
- To much dubstep. There are other genres you know. Sadly sc2 isn't like other games which are super popular so you don't have to pander to the masses with boring generic dubstep [this is to the ears of someone who listens to a little bit but not much and is no expert so to me it all sounds the same, wub wub wub]. I know GSL has always blown me away with their playlists. Metal one minute, next something like K-pop. Lot of music i dislike but because i got that one metal song i really don't care what else they play. also keeps me excited to when the next metal song will come on.
- Crowd mics. From the stream end we really could't hear the auidence so even with the best tries to hype up the auidence it really didn't come across on stream which is a shame as it seems the crowd was a lot more hyped and louder than the impression i got of it on stream.

Pro's:
- Casters were as always awesome. I love that we got a regualr change up seeing players like blysk and so on jump on stream to offer their pro gamer insight to the casts. Really sharp casting all week long.
- Love the set up on stage. Interviews with players and so on and caster desk and having a MC. I do feel that acl has a long way to go in order to improve on this aspect in a lot of ways but that's a good thing, it means the next one can be even better

Quick Comments

ACL VaNzR:

Happy for people to come up with our royalty free playlists. Really is that simple. Get involved and send it over :)

[mGGDrGooSe]

Number stream issue for me is still (and has been for years) sound equalisation. MC was way louder than anyone else, including specs who were using the same mic. My opinion is that its because he was doing the right thing and everyone else was talking too softly. If everyone projects from their diaphragm, then sound balancing becomes a lot easier and when the action kicks in and Maynarde gets excited, my speakers don't blow up because of the sudden jump in noise (because his volume doesn't change that much because he is already projecting, its his tone that would convey the excitement).

Not sure how much automatic sound balancing hardware/software costs, but I do know they exist.

[Drinksarlot]

Disappointed I couldn't go, looked like a great time.

From a stream watcher at home - there was still definitely a lot of down time. Other than being more organized as mentioned, possibly the best solution I can think of is to have a community B stream run from home that broadcasts other games - similar to what dreamhack does. The other great thing for both the tournament and the stream that dreamhack does is list the next upcoming couple of games.

It was also hard to find the bracket link - couldn't see it in the ACL thread, or on the ACL site anywhere.

Lastly, the stream numbers went up significantly when IEM wasn't on - if possible try not to schedule on same weekend as major events, but you probably already know that.

Really well done overall though.

Quick Comments

ACL VaNzR:

Hmmm good point. All bracket links put onto our new BETA website. ACL site will take 2nd fiddle from now on

[SLCN.NXZ]

Stick a camera in the player area and have that and crowd shots instead of an overlay.

Quick Comments

syfPhoenix:

^This idea is a really good one.

[Blysk]

The referee staring at me while playing doesnt help stage fright, change positions of on-stage player seating.
Improve lighting (Especially the casters area, the white light doesn't help make it look any better, they just look pale >< )
Create clear metrics for players to anticipate their seeding into the brackets (in case of no ACL points etc).
If possible to get Player cameras would be cool.
Would love to have enough bandwidth to AT LEAST listen to music while sc2 but i understand if AUSternet has its limitations.
More fillers in between downtime for stream - Eg. camera around the area(walk arounds so stream viewers know what the event is like[similar to TheInternational] ,more fun interviews for players or visitors, challenges between players like TAKETV. stuff like that would increase viewer count for sure.

But overall event was amazing.

[syfChadMann]

I agree with Maynarde 100%, he summed it up perfectly. There was some epic down time and it got addressed really well on day 2. Really liked what you guys did with game analysis and interviews. Should do more interviews and have MC hype up the crowd before the games

Originally Posted by Maynarde

Even though there were spikes, the games were still the most lag-less games we've ever had. (on stage, not sure about OB area).

ACL Brisbane was crystal clear, no lag whole event. No spikes - that net was imba.


Another thing I'll say, and this is feedback to the players I've always noticed there is heaps of ******* around at ACL. Play your games, get off the PCs and report results straight away. If you are waiting for PCs to play, get your opponent ready and hang around the admin area, as soon as someone reports result, ask admins to take their PCs and play your games! There was a bit of luck that this ACL seemed to zoom by on Day 2, but day 1 looked painfully slow. I wasn't there but I read above that there were some PC issues, so this could have been to cause. Still, I don't think everyone takes their responsibility to get their games done properly.

Admins, have players ready for stream games, don't hold up the bracket too much, but if try and get someone waiting just a bit and get them ready with their veto's etc so they just have to set up, warm up quickly and get going.

Looked like it was a really well run event and the games were great. So my feedback, keep doing what your doing - but lets all try and stream line it a bit more!!

Also, I think I prefer the single elim version of the brackets.. I'd like to see that amount of people going through the groups but a double elim bracket for champs.. idk.. I think with more spots from groups you get some really nice stories of under-dogs coming through.

Anyway, hope to make it to the next one #Melbourne2014???

Quick Comments

	SLCN.NXZ:	I think they should seed 3rd place into losers or something.
	syfPhoenix:	^What NXZ said

[x5_Bard]

Event was fantastic. I can't really say anything truly negative from my perspective.

I thought on day 1 that it was going to run extremely overtime, but to the admins credit you did an amazing job of pulling it back on schedule by the end of day 2.

If anything the lighting was very poor in LoL, which was strange since Super Smash was extremely well lit.

As for people complaining about seeding etc, that happens at events. Unless you pick and choose (which imo is worse) someone is always going to get a tough bracket. Every single ACL I have watched has had x5 team kills, I just rock up now expecting it. Same goes with the music/lag/lighting etc. That is all part of the LAN experience, you cant expect to play in the exact same conditions as at home, where everything is perfect. If you have a look at who finished where you can almost rank it purely on the amount of Aussie LAN's they have been to (Pigeon the exception of course).

I personally liked the double elim version, it means if you draw someone like KK or guz first round you still have a chance to go deep in the lower bracket. Both versions have merits, with time constraints being the obvious major factor.

x5_NXZ: I think they should seed 3rd place into losers or something.

I love that idea.

Quick Comments

	Pox:	Tough brackets are inevitable but this was by far the worst I've ever seen.
	ACL VaNzR:	Well said...

[ETL.abbadonz]

Originally Posted by fray`ChadMann

Another thing I'll say, and this is feedback to the players I've always noticed there is heaps of ******* around at ACL. Play your games, get off the PCs and report results straight away. If you are waiting for PCs to play, get your opponent ready and hang around the admin area, as soon as someone reports result, ask admins to take their PCs and play your games! There was a bit of luck that this ACL seemed to zoom by on Day 2, but day 1 looked painfully slow.

100% agree with you here, a little bit of initiative from the players coming up to the admins, reporting scores (both winner and loser so we get a confirmation on score and a sort of double checking the results) Whilest it wasnt the main culprit, having to run around looking for players, making sure that you are in game etc is very time consuming... Your 5min of faffing around added with everyone elses means we lose alot of time.

And it was no luck that we caught up on day 2, it was 150% pure hard work from the ACL guys :P

[Baldie]

I've read through all your responses so far - thanks to those who have contributed and please continue to contribute. I have picked out a few responses I want to answer.

Originally Posted by ToRPox

My only complaint is the open bracket seeding - I'm not sure how it was done, but Blysk and Fighto got screwed over pretty hard. It's obviously a subjective issue but I think anyone who knows anything about our competitive scene would agree the brackets were very lopsided.

To clarify the seeding of the open bracket it was done through ACL yearly points. Anybody with 0 ACL yearly points were seeded randomly among other 0 point earners. From there the two brackets were split effectively into an odd group and an even group aka 1st seed into group A, 2nd seed into group B, 3rd seed into group A, 4th seed into group B etc. It's just an unfortunate turn of events which meant that a lot of the big names ended up being on the same side of a bracket. I cringed when I saw the brackets but there's nothing I can do without being subjective.

Originally Posted by Metalcore

To much dubstep. There are other genres you know. I know GSL has always blown me away with their playlists.

This is purely a music rights issue. GSL pay royalties for many of their songs and song rights are not cheap. As we are representing brands we don't want to do anything illegal or potentially damaging to a sponsor's image. I do acknowledge more time could be spent into sourcing a variety of royalty free genres and I'll try rectify this moving forward.

Originally Posted by Drinksarlot

possibly the best solution I can think of is to have a community B stream run from home that broadcasts other games - similar to what dreamhack does.

I reached out to the community in the ACL Sydney thread asking if anybody wanted to community cast to contact me and I had no responses. With everything I'm doing in preparation for an event of this scale, I don't have the time to chase something like this. The community needs to take initiative. And don't wait for me to reach out to the community before you ask me anything. If you have an idea tell me, ask me to do something even demand it - I won't bite your head off. The worst I will do is tell you I can't do it and I'll try to guide you in the right direction.

Originally Posted by Blysk

The referee staring at me while playing doesnt help stage fright, change positions of on-stage player seating.

The reason the stage admin was in the position he was in was to ensure there was no cheating given the location of the stage and the projector screen. Only the person on the left of stage had any possibility of looking up at the mini map so that's why the admin was there the whole time. Usually an admin will stand to the side. So while I apologise you (and perhaps others) had this experience my hands were tied.

Originally Posted by fray`ChadMann

Another thing I'll say, and this is feedback to the players I've always noticed there is heaps of ******* around at ACL. Play your games, get off the PCs and report results straight away. If you are waiting for PCs to play, get your opponent ready and hang around the admin area, as soon as someone reports result, ask admins to take their PCs and play your games!

This 1000000%. My admin team and I will always do what we can to reduce the amount of things players have to do but as anybody at the event would have seen we don't exactly sit on a seat all day sipping a latte and watching the stream. At the end of the day the more we all work together the faster things move and ultimately the more my tournament admin will be in control which in turn frees me up to be able to make more of an impact on things like stream downtime.

[Metalcore]

Originally Posted by Baldie

I reached out to the community in the ACL Sydney thread asking if anybody wanted to community cast to contact me and I had no responses. With everything I'm doing in preparation for an event of this scale, I don't have the time to chase something like this. The community needs to take initiative. And don't wait for me to reach out to the community before you ask me anything. If you have an idea tell me, ask me to do something even demand it - I won't bite your head off. The worst I will do is tell you I can't do it and I'll try to guide you in the right direction.

I would of been keen for this but, I had prior plans that weekend . It is def something i will keep in mind for future events though. If you ever need a b stream for lans that can be cast from home let me know sooner than later so i can commit to it b4 i commit to the student life lol.

[Baldie]

Originally Posted by Metalcore

I would of been keen for this but, I had prior plans that weekend . It is def something i will keep in mind for future events though. If you ever need a b stream for lans that can be cast from home let me know sooner than later so i can commit to it b4 i commit to the student life lol.

Thanks but even saying this isn't enough. When the next event comes I won't be able to remember who said to reach out to them or who said they would be interested. Assume I will always forget!

Quick Comments

Metalcore:

Know the feel. I'll just take responsibility and get my ass involved!

[syfChadMann]

Originally Posted by ToRPox

My only complaint is the open bracket seeding - I'm not sure how it was done, but Blysk and Fighto got screwed over pretty hard.

Yeah, I have zero sympathy for this. Everyone knows its done from ACL points.. so if you don't want to get screwed over in the seeding, play the online qualifiers. If you can't that's a bummer.

Baldie, any hot tips on ACL Melbourne yay/nay??

[Frustration]

Come on melbourne

[syfSoundwave]

Originally Posted by baldie

just don't ask about acl melbourne - we will let you know anything on that as it becomes available - we are aware of your desire for one.!

WOW chad just WOW m8