Baldman Games & WotC On All Access Issues At Gen Con

There were a lot of complaints about the D&D All Access gaming at Gen Con this year. Charles Akins over at Dyvers Campaign has a great summary, so I won't repeat it here - but if you're interested, check that out. WotC and Baldman Games (who run the D&D events at Gen Con) appear to have heard those complaints, because they are taking action to address them - to the extent that they're giving All Access badge holders a free copy of the upcoming hardcover Out of the Abyss, and a free copy of Sword Coast Legends video game!

You need to fill out a form to get your goodies.

"I first want to thank everyone for the excellent feedback so far. We are gathering comments and discussing ways to improve all Baldman Games’ offerings going forward. We will have further posts this Fall asking for more specific feedback.

Baldman Games and Wizards of the Coast realize that we did not meet your expectations with our All-Access Program at Gen Con this year. The way production schedules lined up, it was difficult for us to provide the new products that had been offered in previous years. But have no fear! We want to make things right. We value your support of D&D and our programs at Gen Con and other shows. To that end, we have some stuff to offer to everyone who played in the All-Access program at Gen Con 2015.

Here’s what you’ll get:

One hard copy of Out of the Abyss, the TRPG adventure in the Rage of Demons story, before it hits store shelves, mailed directly to you
One code for a digital copy of Sword Coast Legends, the party-based RPG coming out on PC, Mac and Linux, on September 29th, sent to the email you provide.

If you are an All-Access player from Gen Con, please make sure to fill in the form below completely. The information provided will only be used to ship the book to you, send the code, and/or contact you if we have a problem doing so. It will be destroyed once shipping is completed.

Once again, we apologize for not meeting the expectations of the program this year, and we will work hard in the coming months to build a bigger, stronger, and more transparent program in 2016 and beyond.

David Christ
Baldman Games"

 

[DEFCON 1]

I wouldn't be surprised WotC contributed money with the swag, but if Baldman's endeavor is barely profitable and they have to cut on microphones, the presence of D&D at GenCon might be in a bit more precarious than thought.

Yeah, who knows? They maybe just didn't consider how hard it would be for people to hear in the room, so they thought "Eh, we don't need it... use the funds for a different part." Only now after the fact do they realize that oh, no... having a sound system for a large epic event is more important that they thought. Live and learn and all that. I'd expect next year we'll see a sound system return (unless the bottom line is indeed as tight as you speculated, in which case... ouch.)

 

[Malikai2000]

I heard (thus second hand information) that they were not allowed to have a microphone. Now a number of these limitations are because they no longer are a sponsor of Gen Con. If they (WOTC) did step up and sponsor, then I believe they could offer a better experience. In one post the number $75,000 was mentioned for them to upgrade their sponsorship and thus get better perks, location, etc from Gen Con. Seemed like the person knew what they were talking about, but I can't confirm the validity of that number.

 

[AriochQ]

I had to explain to our DM how to pronounce most monster names and explain what they were, he was not familiar with the adventure he was running. He stated he had only played 5th edition, had only been playing D&D for about a year, and didn't DM much.

 

[mach1.9pants]

There is a well known company (in NZ!) who's motto is '...we'll put it right. It is the putting right that counts". Now I'd prefer it to be good in the first place but this is good CS when you stuff it up.

 

[Kramodlog]

Yeah, who knows? They maybe just didn't consider how hard it would be for people to hear in the room, so they thought "Eh, we don't need it... use the funds for a different part." Only now after the fact do they realize that oh, no... having a sound system for a large epic event is more important that they thought. Live and learn and all that. I'd expect next year we'll see a sound system return (unless the bottom line is indeed as tight as you speculated, in which case... ouch.)

Who knows, but if [MENTION=10080]Malikai2000[/MENTION] 's post as any truth to it, WotC's sponsorship seems to be very important. But with WotC moving over to PAX and how budgets seem thigh at WotC, the future looks doubtful.

 

[Radiating Gnome]

There is a well known company (in NZ!) who's motto is '...we'll put it right. It is the putting right that counts". Now I'd prefer it to be good in the first place but this is good CS when you stuff it up.

Actually, I worked with a company here in the states (Candlewood Suites) years ago that said something similar. Their concept was that you couldn't have excellent customer service until something went wrong. If everything goes right, no one notices, things are just good. But when something goes wrong and you demonstrate how much you care with a speedy, effective fix that meets your customer's needs, that's when your service becomes excellent.

I think this meets the speedy and effective mark, and I'm glad to see BMG come through. I'm very curious, though, to see how the event is re-imagined for next year.

 

[Uchawi]

Probably a good move on their part. I did not attend the convention but I was able to stop by on Thursday night to take a Gander. I was surprised Paizo was a sponsor and not WOTC. Even the event maps did not have the D&D area identified. They were listed in the events section. It does not come across as wanting to sell the game, or being the grand daddy of RPGs.

I guess they were serious about moving away from GenCon and embracing Pax.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Yeah, who knows? They maybe just didn't consider how hard it would be for people to hear in the room, so they thought "Eh, we don't need it... use the funds for a different part." Only now after the fact do they realize that oh, no... having a sound system for a large epic event is more important that they thought. Live and learn and all that. I'd expect next year we'll see a sound system return (unless the bottom line is indeed as tight as you speculated, in which case... ouch.)

You live and learn when it's your first time doing something like that.

Not many years later.

 

[sidonunspa]

Wizards needs to stop sub-contracting and show up at the con.....

that is all I'm saying on the subject

 

[Akodoken]

I concur, WOTC's absence was noticed. The topic came up numerous times during the convention in conversations with different groups. That said, it is nice to see WOTC doing right by their loyal customers. Good on you!