Friday - press conference

It was a really short night, at least if you consider the part of it that would actually serve for sleep. The next part of setting the booth up was the installation of Steam and the mod files, which also required a couple of Steam updates. Gladly, the HotSpot was up again and we finally had the chance to download the updates directly at the Maritim. The booth was finally fully operational at 13:00. Since the time in between consisted mostly of waiting, I used it for my invitation to the press conference that takes place before the official opening.
While last year's conference was very entertaining - thanks to the attendance of J.G. Hertzler, Robert O'Reilly and Paul McGillion, this year's conference was disturbed by some reporters without obvious manners. With two of them behind me talking very loudly, I was unable to understand half of the conference. Nontheless, I used the opportunity to take some photos. The guest actors were in a good mood, which is a perfect precondition to an entertaining convention.

On a sidenote here: The wallpapers that you see in the background have actually been designed by paradox (planet render) and me. But a FedCon press conference is also special in other ways. It is the only one in the world that I know where the security staff at the entrance consists of Klingons. Unusual, but definately effective. Also a tradition: A parade of Stromtroopers right in the middle of the conference.

Friday - the opening

When the first people entered our room and started playing, it soon filled up quite nicely. You might imagine that due to the lack of Star Wars guests, that brand would not be that present on the con. A false assumption actually. The 501st legion had a booth of their own on the main floor with a backwall inspired by the Deathstar. And they did not only bring along an entire division of Stormtroopers, but also a huge Wampa and a surprise for the costume contest on Saturday. And so, we had a several members of the 501st in our room throughout the weekend. Rarely playing though, since they had been busy with their usual charity affairs and were even utilized as a part of the security team at the entrance - which had given first time visitors a great impression of the atmosphere at FedCon. Where else in the world do you have to pass an Imperial checkpoint?
Anyways, FedCon didn't let the visitors notice any of the hostility that is said to exist in between Star Trek and Star Wars. Fans were celebrating together and having a lot of fun. And just to prove that: We had our first couple of Klingons playing the mod on Friday.

In the afternoon, we also had the first visit of a "Star guest". Not actually a producer, CGI artist or actor, but at the same level when it comes to the FedCon fans: Marc B. Lee, the host for the shows, also referred to as "master of ceremonies". He took one of our flyers and would later announce us in front of thousands of fans during the opening ceremony of the convention. A very nice move that would fill our LAN room for the rest of the weekend permanently.

Talking of which: Jean and I took a break for the Opening Ceremony, as it is one of the major events during the convention. All guest stars are first introduced on stage then and there are usually some fan-films shown with a great sense of humor. Lead by our host Marc B. Lee, the opening ceremony built up a tremendous mood and excitement among the thousands of fans. Like rock concerts? This was even better!
Since this year, the new Battlestar Galactica series was very present with Mary McDonnell, Jamie Bamber, Nicki Clyne, Leah Cairns and Michelle Forbes, the stage decoration was prepared accordingly. A twelve colonies backlit icon in the middle, huge banners in the rear. But that was not all. For all of those who have seen the series, you might know the ceremonial phrase "so say we all". Can you imagine 2.000 people screaming "SO SAY WE ALL" throughout the mainbridge? Sheesh, that gave me goosebumps. And it definately left an impression on the BSG actors who had convinced their studio to postpone the filming schedule to allow most of them to come to the convention. Something that has never happened before in convention history. But it only proved: We were at exactly the right convention here.

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