Nice stuff, BBall! Packing up all my gear to travel has always been a frightening prospect, but I'd love to participate in a LAN event.

Looking forward to part 2!

I've always wondered about this, but back in the Philippines, we have big internet cafes that cater to gaming as well. We could "reserve" a few PCs and play with friends. Not much for simming, but great for things like DotA, CounterStrike, etc. Really fun when the person you taunt is on the other side of the table as well.

Thank God for modern-day internet connections and TeamSpeak!

Back in the day when Dusty and I were part of the Buddyboys with Crash, we didn't have to travel too far and our systems were easily transported in our vehicles. Unfortunately, those days are over and now, having LAN meets requires air travel. I really enjoy the LAN environment so I do my best to get out to either BBall's or Kozmo's place for some quality simming. I just keep an eye on Southwest's sales and the cost isn't too bad.

Since I've been flying out to BBall's every year since 2005, I pretty much have it down to a science. In the past, I would use a gaming laptop but that quickly became obsolete and would not play our sims or first person shooters adequately. So, I eventually decided to build a separate LAN box that doubles as a guest computer when I host LAN meets or as a computer for my kids and their games. I also purchased a slim, 21.5" LED Samsung monitor which fits into my luggage nicely. And thankfully, Southwest allows two bags without fees so I wrap my mid-tower case in bubble wrap and place it inside a suitcase. I know, I know..you trust it with the baggage handlers? No, I really don't but I take the necessary precautions. I also remove the hard drives and the video card and carry them in a back pack to prevent damage. Then, I pack another suitcase with my pedals, other necessary gear, etc. Finally, I carry my Warthog HOTAS in a separate carry-on which fits under the seat in front of me and bingo, "Have gear and can travel!" The only slow down is going through security since the inspector can't recognize my HOTAS in my carry-on. On my last trip, I waived over a TSA agent and showed the worker what was inside my bag before it went through. He passed on the information to the operator at the scanner and no problems or questions. Normally the gear gets the "wipe down" for explosive residue but it isn't a big deal.

Anyway, I'm glad to see that the article was finally posted and we already have two other "traveling LAN meets" under our belts. And another one coming up in October....can't wait!

Looks like a lot of fun. Looking forward to part 2.


Wheels

those cafes are all the rage in Asia, especially South Korea, only ever seen one here, in Sioux Falls, SD.

Great article BBall.. Unfortunately, I've never had the pleasure of attending a SimHQ LAN meet-up, but I can empathize with traveling with delicate parts. I often take my whole rig on vacations with me (if I'm driving) since sometimes I have to do "working" vacations (capturing screenshots). The family laughs because I throw everything in the car sort of haphazardly, but the CPU, monitor, and HOTAS all get lovingly placed and protected.. <g>

Looking forward to the rest of the article..

BeachAV8R

My computer has a handle on top - let's roll!

WC

Thanks guys!

It was as much fun to write as it was to attend! Actually, it was FAR more fun to fly!

We started holding regular LANs here in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area waaaay back in the "Hornet Korea" days (1997?), and where we used to go almost monthly, we're now down to our annual event in the late Fall. Our 2012 LAN (named "Hog-a-paloosa" referencing the A-10C as our Sim of choice) was outstanding, and I expect this years event to be no less. (Griff....will this one be known as "Huey-paloosa"?....lol)

We flew TONS of DCS, and went long into the night wielding the ubiquitous M60 in BF3 "stacking 'em like chord wood"! Great food, some cold beer (no thanks to TBob for the Crown Royal), incredible flying (and shooting), but mostly just several days spent hanging with homies having a great time!

Everyone is welcome to attend!

BBall

Huey-paloosa it is!

BBall and it was fun to read, both parts

Like Ice mentioned, the internet cafes were places to go for LAN party also here in Slovakia and Czech Republic. Long time ago we rent one whole inet cafe and went for two days and one night of simming fun. The guy flying on your wing and siting next to you is what makes the huge difference in comparison to online.
We slept under the tables next to the warm computers

I n-joy articles like this much more then reviews

Likewise


Hardcore, man.

Great read! Not sure there's a great deal of scope to do this in Tasmania unfortunately

It would be great if joysticks could have a recessed micro-USB or USB-B socket recessed somewhere, and a generic cable to connect to the PC. That way damage like this can be repaired without soldering.

Hogapalooza or Hueypalooza 2013....whatever we decide to call it begins tomorrow . Looks like we have a special treat planned for the first day so we'll be sure to grab plenty of pictures. I'm sure BBall will be doing another write-up for this one (if he wasn't, well....he was just volunteered). The bags are packed along with the HOTAS, a new, larger portable monitor, along with a new LAN computer

I'm just hoping BBall remembered to pay his heating bill so that we don't have to sleep next to our computers to stay warm!

This year's list:

DCS
IL2 (we're going old school for some WWII prop action)
BF3 and hopefully some BF4
And, some first rate instruction on the QW 757 in FSX from two real world 757 pilots!
Oh, and plenty of adult beverages and awesome food from Mrs. BBall

Yeah,

Today marks day 1 of:

“LAN-a-palooza 2013”

“Huey-palooza 2013”

“Hog-a-palooza 2013”

“Beer&Sim-a-palooza 2013”

“Palooza-palooza 2013”…

(you choose)

LMAO!

I’ve tweaked the computers to within an inch of their lives, I’ve been doing liver pushups to keep it in shape, I’ve starved myself in preparation for the amazing victuals in our future (Mrs. BBall LOVES LAN time…gives her a chance to play hostess…something she dearly loves), and I’ve prepaid my electric bill so as to NOT cause a run on the banks here in Wisconsin after the power grid takes a hit in the next four days.

I think we’re all set.

Oh, and as Griff mentioned, we have a HUGE treat today after we pick him up at the Minneapolis/St. Paul spaceport. When I say “we”, its to include a new member to the group. He’s a close friend, another airline pilot type (Capt. Pat A.), and he’s a total noob to flight simming. We flew a 12 day trip to Asia a few months ago, and the subject of flight simming came up. Turns out his uncle was the famous (R.I.P) Northwest Airlines Boeing 747 Captain Mel Ott (a big flight simmer himself…went by the moniker “TarMack”…he was really big into the FSX “civie” sims). I had flown with Mel many years ago when I was a new hire B747 Flight Engineer, and I knew a little about his fame in the FSX world.

Anyway, Pat and I began talking about flight simming, and I picked his interest enough that when he dropped me off at the hacienda after the trip, I plopped him down in front of my computer/HOTAS and had him do some yanking and banking in that old favorite “IL-2: 1946”. He loved it! So I immediately invited him to the LAN, got my daughters rig tweaked a bit for him to flight sim with (new vid card and an upgrade to Win7), and now he’s prepped to join us in the virtual skies of the ETO/PTO version of IL-2, and also in the A-10A of DCS World fame.

The treat today comes courtesy of Pat. One of his passions (like 99% of us) revolves around history as it pertains to aviation. So much so, that for several years, he flew the B-25 “Miss Mitchell” for the Commemorative Air Force! He’s since moved on from that “side job”, but his contacts remain. After grabbing Griff from the airport, we’re planning on meeting up with the other LAN mates over at Fleming Field in St. Paul for a “personal tour” of the Miss Mitchell!

How cool is that?

Pictures galore will be the order of the day!

Oh, and Griff, not to worry, I promised “EP” that I would do a little write up on this shin-dig…so we’re covered there.

Have a great day all, and we’ll catch up with ya “post LAN”…

BBall