Posted by ETHunter
(proxy-1328.public.svc.webtv.net) on July 01, 2001 at 16:25:34: I chose that title for the subject because my trip to Milwaukee was was quite
eventful, and I'm not just talking about the fest itself. Maybe someday I'll
think back on all that happened and laugh, but this is not that day... :-)
The story goes something like this...
As some of you were aware, I got a kidney stone "attack" just 2
days before I was to leave for JagFest. I really shouldn't have gone with the
risks of things going bad not just hundreds of miles from home, but also
carpooling with Carl Forhan from Rochester. But being the hardcore Atarian that
I am, no stone was going to prevent me from attending the fest I had waited
anxiously for so long. You would think that things could only get better when we
made it to Milwaukee. Not exactly.
When we got into Milwaukee at about 8:00pm, Carl and I first went out Motel
to check in, check out what our rooms looked liked, etc. Carl wished the rooms
were a little nicer, but I didn't care what they looked like, I was just happy
to be there. Unfortunately my opinion of our place took a 180 degree turn within
a short 24 hour period, but that story will come later.
After checking out our Motel, we went to the place Jagfest was being held at.
Carl brought a full van of systems and software and needed to get a head start
at setting up the table Friday night. I think we got done setting up everything
around 1:00 am Saturday and called it a night while Dan, Gary and Max hung
around till 3:00am setting up all of their belongings.
The fest itself was very well done. The amount of work The Goatstore put into
the event to make it successful was remarkable. The turnout was also very
impressive, with more than 80 attendees for the day. Several tournaments were
going on throughout the day, unreleased games like Brett Hull Hockey, Total
Carnage, BHH CD, Phaze Zero were on display, prototypes such as the JagVR and
AvP Lynx were playable and we even managed to get a 10 BattleSphere network
going.
The tournaments were agonizing to say the least. For instance, the rules for
the Tempest 2000 competition was the starting point at level 61. Ouch! If that
didn't hurt bad enough, I lost to Fard by a lousy 1,000 points! I choked when I
knew I was closing in on his score and let my excitement get the best of me. The
starting point was a little extreme as only 3 players actually completed level
61, while the other 10 were done in just seconds. Other tournament favorites
such as Combat, Ponx, Ram It, and the big BattleSphere network were a ton-o-fun!
But playing games is only a small part of what made this JagFest so cool. It
was very cool meeting all the JI2 users, seeing again those I met at JagFest
'99, and meeting several I had never seen before. It's always interesting
putting a face to the name. Nice to see guys like Kevin Mosley, Ted Rusniak,
Clay Halliwell, Clint Thompson, Fard Muhammad, Chad Tindle, Randy Femrite and
his wife, Jason Data, Terrance Williams, Dan@AVC, Eric Armstrong, Max and the
Goat crew, Dan and Gary. As you can tell, several JI2 guys were present and
every single one of them were a pleasure to meet.
During the fest, Carl showed off the soon to be released Protector SE _WITH_
the CD bypass built in. Using that cart, he loaded Brett Hull CD on a normal
JagCD. With that device, the possibilities are plentiful for new software to be
released far into the future and at a low cost not just for the developer, but
also the buyer. As for Protector SE, the game, very impressive! The updated
graphics have been done nicely...so nicely in fact that some wondered if there
are additional layers of scrolling. Not the case, according to Carl, but it
appears that way due to the more colorful background. All you guys should be
saving your nickels for this one! The gameplay tweaking really makes this game
playable for everyone, not just the defender junkies anymore! ;-)
What probably caused the largest amount of excitement to this years Jaguar
festival was the BS network. It took about a dozen tries to get all ten systems
to hook up with one another. We continued to have problems with one console. The
problem was fixed when we realized the phone cable we had connected to the
Catbox was a different type. We all applauded when all ten systems finally
entered the network.
We played only Free-for-All, setting the kills on 10 and went at each others
throats. I took the first 2 victories, with Fard coming in 2nd each time. Then
Fard took the next 2 victories with myself coming in 2nd. It appeared when the
tournament was to begin that it was going to be a dogfight between The UA and
ETHunter. Unbelievably, a pilot that never played BS before won the tournament!
Obviously, he lucked out by not constantly being targeted by the BS experts!
Having ten players together, it's hard to keep track of everyone that may be
quietly getting kills while staying out of harms way. Grrrrrr!
With the initial problems of getting everything to work, the tournament
wasn't over and the fest near closing till after 11:00pm. Exhausted, we all
packed our stuff while visiting with others till after 1:00am. Fard missed his
bus back to Chicago and had to wait until 3:30 for the next departure. With a
long wait at the bus terminal, I told Fard he could come to my place and get a
cab in a couple hours to take him to the bus. Fard accepted my offer, and this
is where it gets wierd.
We got to the Motel and went to my door with my key in hand. Trouble was, my
key couldn't get into the lock! I went the the office...CLOSED! But a caretaker
of the facility saw Fard and myself standing outside and asked if he could be of
any assistance. After say "you're screwed, dude!" when inspecting my
lock, he attempted to pry the lock open when we heard someone yelling from
inside my room! We told him to open up since that was not his room, but he
countered saying it was indeed his room, the front desk giving him the keys. Now
the guy said I have no chance to get my room back now, and all I can do is call
the emergency number located on the door. So Fard, Carl and myself are standing
outside, 2 in the morning, attempting to call the owner, but there was no
answer.
If going to the fest with a kidney stone and choking at all the tournaments
wasn't enough, now I lost my room I had paid for! Carl offered his room so we
all piled into Carls room. With Carl laying on the bed and Fard and I sitting on
the vinyl chairs, we chatted about all things Atari until his cab arrived at
around 3am.
Needless to say, when the office opened, they had to deal with a very angry
ETHunter about my room being given away! Getting my money back (and then some)
for that night, Carl and I made the journey back to Minnesota today.
I will have to say, though, that experiences like this make great, great
memories. This will always be remembered by me as a time when I got to meet new
friends, and strengthen the friendships of those that I have considered to be
buds of mine for the last few years. I am so happy I was able to attend. Here's
to hoping the next JagFest will be just as great of an experience...but with a
nice, compitent motel next time. ;-)
Micah Rowe