Jason_Williams Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Hello everyone, Just wanted to say that the FS Expo 2018 was an interesting and fun event. Not the largest on the planet, but pretty interesting for simmers. Our Sturmovik display really was a highlight of the show and many attendees indicated to me that it was their favorite. Many attendees also came back around multiple times to play IL-2 and for those that were unfamiliar with IL-2 got to see it in all it's glory across three large screens using some awesome gear. Nothing but positive comments. There were people waiting to fly because of full stations the entire time. There were of course some rude people and ill-informed people who made dumb comments, but overall it was a good mix of people who just loved aviation and liked what they saw with Sturmovik. This included real pilots and even some real USAF pilots who came by. This attempt at a flight-sim convention I think it turned out pretty well and it sold out so hopefully it will become an annual or biennial event. I also hope we can keep it in Vegas. Very convenient for me. Although next time I'd like to see all big players in our industry attend and help make it a bigger show with more action oriented exhibits. If done right we can have our own mini-E3 just about our hobby. The VR was a hit, but also the unit(s) using TrackIR were also very popular. The gear I brought did get attention which was cool, but many were ignorant that such gear even existed. Sad! It so much different then the gear for civvy sims that they are amazed. We also overcame some early technical troubles to get things going and our team really handled everything awesomely! Speaking of the team, Hooves, Luke, Elisa and Callie really took care of the attendees and and answered so many questions about Sturmovik. Even the girls got the hang of it and really helped everyone have fun. Hooves and Luke brought gear to the show to help defer costs and it all came together very nicely. I could not have pulled this off without them. BIG thanks to both of them. Also, Herrmurph came on Sunday and he was gracious enough to help us breakdown the exhibit and speed up our departure. Was a big, big help. And finally several of you from this very forum came to the show and hung out at the booth and I was able to talk to you guys and shoot the breeze. I enjoyed it a lot. I won't mention everyone here in this post because I'll forget someone, but it was great talking to you guys and getting to know you in person. I hope we get to do it again next year. Again, a HUGE thanks to everyone who helped, attended and provided gear (Virpil, GVL and MFG). All the hard work and effort was worth it I believe and I learned many lessons from this event that I can apply to any future FSExpo to make our exhibit even more fun. The event itself was pretty well organized and they treated exhibitors quite well. I did have to grease the wheels a bit at times, but it worked out. Luckily I know how conventions work, especially in Vegas. My past years there helped when we were in a pinch lets say. We were so busy that documenting all the action and doing fancy videos or reports was difficult. We just focused on the attendees who paid and traveled to be there, but here are some pics of the booth in action. P.S. someone did win our Ace of the Expo contest, but I need to dig out the score sheet from the show. He got 6 kills in 10 mins from what I remember. Jason 15 8 16
1CGS LukeFF Posted June 12, 2018 1CGS Posted June 12, 2018 Gah, why did I have to close my eyes in that one shot? ? 6 1
unreasonable Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, LukeFF said: Gah, why did I have to close my eyes in that one shot? ? Fear not, no-one is looking at your eyes. Great effort, guys, glad it went well. 5 1
[APAF]VR_Spartan85 Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Actually ‘awe his eyes were closed’ was the first thing I said when I saw the photo... lol.... i cannot wait wait to see what the team has in store for us in the future now... oh and for those experienced, how was the difference between Samsung device and vive pro?
Danziger Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 God... Leave it to Luke to completely ruin a successful event by blinking... I think I want a black shirt instead of the white one. Black is more slimming and I can wear it after Labor Day. Luke should've brought his top hat and cane for beating rude people. 1
Freycinet Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 7 hours ago, Jason_Williams said: Sad! Jason Channelling your inner donald there, I see.... ? Thanks for a great report. Another suggestion for next years' expo would be to have a one hour "greatest hits" game footage video running on a big screen... That would pull in even more people.
216th_Peterla Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Nice to see that was a positive showoff for you. All the best and there will always be rude and unpolite people. Regards
chiliwili69 Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 (edited) 18 hours ago, Jason_Williams said: even some real USAF pilots who came by That´s nice. Modern combat planes are a bit more "boring" that WWII planes. I sure they enjoyed the VR demos. Thanks for the summary and the pictures, they look great! It seems was worth the effort for the demos and the team. Next time you know what you have to do to stay above the other booths: Edited June 12, 2018 by chiliwili69
Nil Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Excellent! thank you for the report and the pictures! Next time, I suggest an additional screen with a promo video playing in repeat mode. Maybe it will help people to better understand what it is about! 1
pilotpierre Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, 1./TG1_Nil said: Excellent! thank you for the report and the pictures! Next time, I suggest an additional screen with a promo video playing in repeat mode. Maybe it will help people to better understand what it is about! I second this excellent suggestion. 1
Freycinet Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 2 hours ago, 1./TG1_Nil said: Excellent! thank you for the report and the pictures! Next time, I suggest an additional screen with a promo video playing in repeat mode. Maybe it will help people to better understand what it is about! I third that suggestion, especially since I myself suggested it just four postings above yours... ? 2
JimTM Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Nice report Jason, thanks. Did anyone feel queasy after trying the VR? I suppose a 5-minute session wouldn't be bad.
Yakdriver Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 Those are two particularly beautiful... Rocket Pods. Jayyysus!
71st_AH_Hooves Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 27 minutes ago, Freycinet said: I third that suggestion, especially since I myself suggested it just four postings above yours... ? We actually had a monitor on the side playing gameplay and sponsor logos for people to check out. People were more interested in playing.? Hooves 25 minutes ago, JimTM said: Nice report Jason, thanks. Did anyone feel queasy after trying the VR? I suppose a 5-minute session wouldn't be bad. Only a few. And I have to be honest, the gentleman that reported being the most queasy was a little worse for wear anyway. So not sure if it was him or the sim. Most likely the combination. But even then, he was willing to come back and give it another try later. I'm not sure if he had any more issues as I was attending to another guest at the time. Hooves 2
Rjel Posted June 12, 2018 Posted June 12, 2018 17 minutes ago, 71st_AH_Hooves said: Only a few. And I have to be honest, the gentleman that reported being the most queasy was a little worse for wear anyway. So not sure if it was him or the sim. Most likely the combination. But even then, he was willing to come back and give it another try later. I'm not sure if he had any more issues as I was attending to another guest at the time. Hooves VR and alcohol. I'm not sure that's a combination I'm eager to try. It's great seeing BoX getting some exposure outside of our little corner of the sim world. I hope there will be more of the same. 53 minutes ago, Freycinet said: I third that suggestion, especially since I myself suggested it just four postings above yours... ? Dammit Freycinet. We're flight simmers, not proof readers*. *with a nod to McCoy. 1
Jason_Williams Posted June 12, 2018 Author Posted June 12, 2018 1 hour ago, Freycinet said: I third that suggestion, especially since I myself suggested it just four postings above yours... ? I appreciate the input, but I already did what you are talking about and the show was not that large. We already had the biggest, brightest and most engaging booth. This isn't E3 where 50K people are gonna walk by your booth. Jason 2
-TBC-AeroAce Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 (edited) 1 hour ago, Blitzen said: T-shirts....please??????? This has come up before and the answer was that is does not make financial sense because by the time the third party shirt production and shipping costs apply there is zero to negligible profit. On a side note DEVs make a donate page!! I would pay a couple of dolla a month to put forward to the cause and many would do more! Edited June 13, 2018 by AeroAce
gn728 Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 (edited) Yah those civvie flight sim guys seemed to be a pretty reserved bunch, (maybe not those Australians with their booth full of boneyard parts for sale.. ) , that's why the IL2 booth was fun - there was action... Oh - and some general info - they said in the opening ceremony that there was a total of 1100 and some attendees. They don't know what city it will be held in next year but they're sending an e-mail to all who attended and you can vote on a city of choice... Edited June 13, 2018 by gn728
Feathered_IV Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 Can Elisa and Callie present the weekly Dev Diaries from now on? 3 2 3
ShamrockOneFive Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 Sounds like it went well and, importantly, got the message out there for some flight sim fans that may not be aware of IL-2 or may not have had any prior experience with the series. This sort of thing can help change hearts and minds. Hopefully it brings some new players to the mix!
TeufelHunden Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 Love that GVL throttle that’s awesome!!! When did you team up with GVL to make that sturmovik model and how come there wasn’t an announcement ?????
Blitzen Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 12 hours ago, AeroAce said: This has come up before and the answer was that is does not make financial sense because by the time the third party shirt production and shipping costs apply there is zero to negligible profit. On a side note DEVs make a donate page!! I would pay a couple of dolla a month to put forward to the cause and many would do more! Yeah yeah,sur-sure- I remember the original posting....stillit would have been fun... 1
Taxman Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 I was wondering how many members we have gained on this forum since the FS Expo started last week? If I remember right there was around 149,500 members at the start of the Expo and as of this morning PDT the count is 149,614. If we gained that many members in less than a week then I would say the Expo was a great success. Jason and the rest of the team and those who volunteered their time and equipment--- great job and thank you 1
Axe61 Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 (edited) You gained me. I was sold the minute I sat down. I was the short fat guy in the flight suit (day 2). And the Top gun award I think goes to me. Got 6 kills and three ground targets in the one sitting. Axe Edited June 13, 2018 by Axe61 added top gun remark 3 11
Jason_Williams Posted June 13, 2018 Author Posted June 13, 2018 12 hours ago, TeufelHunden said: Love that GVL throttle that’s awesome!!! When did you team up with GVL to make that sturmovik model and how come there wasn’t an announcement ????? GVL only makes throttles upon special order. There was no announcement because it is not a commercially available product. It was made to order based on my personal design for the show. To get your own you'd have to deal with GVL and order one. Jason
-TBC-AeroAce Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 3 minutes ago, Jason_Williams said: GVL only makes throttles upon special order. There was no announcement because it is not a commercially available product. It was made to order based on my personal design for the show. To get your own you'd have to deal with GVL and order one. Jason Is it possible for you to disclose a rough unit cost?
Jason_Williams Posted June 13, 2018 Author Posted June 13, 2018 5 minutes ago, AeroAce said: Is it possible for you to disclose a rough unit cost? That's entirely up to GVL Aero. Just shoot him a PM. Jason
DD_Arthur Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Axe61 said: You gained me. I was sold the minute I sat down. I was the short fat guy in the flight suit (day 2). And the Top gun award I think goes to me. Got 6 kills and three ground targets in the one sitting. Axe Hello Axe, congratulations and welcome to the forums. S! 1
Taxman Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Axe61 said: You gained me. I was sold the minute I sat down. I was the short fat guy in the flight suit (day 2). And the Top gun award I think goes to me. Got 6 kills and three ground targets in the one sitting. Axe Welcome Axe. Great to have new members checking in. 1
1./KG4_OldJames Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 4 hours ago, Axe61 said: You gained me. I was sold the minute I sat down. I was the short fat guy in the flight suit (day 2). And the Top gun award I think goes to me. Got 6 kills and three ground targets in the one sitting. Axe Welcome, have you actually purchased the game yet? If so, I hope to see you on the Finnish multiplayer server soon, I will probably be your first kill...my pilot never lives long 1
Axe61 Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 1 hour ago, 1./KG4_OldJames said: Welcome, have you actually purchased the game yet? If so, I hope to see you on the Finnish multiplayer server soon, I will probably be your first kill...my pilot never lives long Yes, I have purchased it and have been trying to get all my addons...ie: joystick, trackir..etc working. I flew the first mission on a new career just a few minutes ago and it seemed to go well. Still working on tweaking my throttle. Axe 2
71st_AH_Hooves Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 1 hour ago, Axe61 said: Yes, I have purchased it and have been trying to get all my addons...ie: joystick, trackir..etc working. I flew the first mission on a new career just a few minutes ago and it seemed to go well. Still working on tweaking my throttle. Axe Welcome Axe! I'm still working on my tacpac stuff. Hooves 1
Axe61 Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 1 minute ago, 71st_AH_Hooves said: Welcome Axe! I'm still working on my tacpac stuff. Hooves Hooves, glad to have met you. We will still be here when you get yours up and running. Need help, just let me know. Axe
Nil Posted June 13, 2018 Posted June 13, 2018 Welcome @Axe61. I am glad that you discover this great sim in the best way ever! Please be gentle with the Junkers 52 if you meet them! 1
Taxman Posted June 14, 2018 Posted June 14, 2018 (edited) Just checked and we have 19 new members since I checked 10hrs ago. Again thanks Axe61 for your posts. I do hope that we receive some more feed back from our new members. Edited June 14, 2018 by Taxman Spelling 1
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