Apologies in advance for the super derailing of this thread, but this needs to be addressed.
On topic, really unfortunate to see another league bite the dust, especially in a less prominent region like SA. Hopefully we can see something else bud up in the future.
MisterDannydashnerMisterDannysandblastTino_[*]
You have no idea what is going on with BTS or how much of an investment they've made for this event, nor do you have any idea how hard some people have worked to make this event happen. Fuck off.
Here I can start with a few things:
- An entire studio space that can now not be used for any of their other big events on their calendar for that weekend for a period of three days. Do you have any idea how much this would normally cost for a studio of this caliber? Of course not.
- An entire production setup that easily trumps anything TF2 has ever had in terms of broadcast production budget, as well as gear that BTS now has tied up for that weekend and can't lease to any of their partners.
You're delusional if you think they're just giving us PCs and making a low-risk gamble.
EDIT: Oh, also a ton of their staff assisting us on-site at no cost to us. BTS has a ton of professionals in the esports place that are extremely talented that will be helping us on-site for free during that weekend, including their content team which is generally agreed is the best in the industry.
Gear and studio space that would have gone unused anyways, so might aswell dip your toe in an untapped market by other esports companies so far to see how it goes.
I'm not taking anything away from people like you that work hard to make another TF2 Lan happen, but someone using this Lan as an example to claim the the game is still kicking is misleading at best, you're not establishing a sustainable tournament circuit, you're creating a one off Lan that will probably not make the organizers any money. leading to them pulling out of the game again, merely my prediction on the matter.
You yourself should know best that TF2 can't possibly satisfy a big organizer like BTS at all with our small viewership, which is in part the fault of the limiting format and at times boring viewer experience, building something sustainable out of this is unlikely.
You literally said they're providing you a studio and gear, stuff that they already own and would probably have not used during that time anyways, the only thing they're actually risking is the time of their staff, which will most likely not result in any future investment from BTS.
Fuck off yourself, kindest sir.
They are taking a large loss by not charging for using a near six figure equipment setup, even ignoring the staff that they're paying out of pocket for. Comparable broadcast studio setups usually charge hundreds per hour, and even then still many would require rental of multiple broadcast quality capture cards for observer PCs to be compatible with the equipment (in pro broadcast BNC connected SDI cables are standard compared to HDMI for consumer grade capture solutions, which are far cheaper).
Saying it would go "unused anyways" doesn't really mean anything when in any other situation to get proper TV broadcast equipment would be exorbitantly expensive. This combined with having Dashner, someone who has years of paid professional esports directing and has experience working on top broadcasts like Overwatch World Cup, Dreamhack, and Blast Pro Series (on top of being the uncontested best director/producer in TF2 of all time) directing and producing is definitely not something to be taken for granted.
Also, saying this is proof the game is still kicking is as far from misleading as you could be. I have not seen this much community hype for a LAN event since i58, and it was only announced a few days ago. I have seen everyone from invite players to open players to tf2center lobby Lord's to even pubbers bringing it up and getting excited, and because of the vast scope of the Beyond the Summit brand, members of other esports communities I've talked to have also taken interest and seem to think this shows promise for the game. I won't pretend like this is going to be the thing that wakes Valve up and makes them give a shit, but in terms of name value, production value, community hype, intercontinental interests, and raw energy going into the organizing efforts, this has potential to go down in TF2's history as either the biggest LAN ever or the start of a new era.
If you don't take personal interest or hold the opinion that the community is dying, I can sympathize. But a new event from a world-renowned brand with the best people in the community running it is definitely not a sign the game is dying, and it's really confusing how a bigger, better event for the community is seen as a negative for you.