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The Midland link up

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The East-West Midlands linkup 27/06/2020 at 20:18 #128290
thegamer7893
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I am currently looking at hosting a huge chained session which will last hopefully between 04:45 (seeded time) and after the rush hour period (09:00-09:30). I would like some thoughts and opinions.

Mod note: please move this to the relevant board as I was unsure about which board this would come under

Last edited: 27/06/2020 at 20:28 by thegamer7893
Reason: New topic title

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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 20:20 #128292
elltrain3
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Which Sims would you class as "Midland"? out of curiosity?
Resident Mock Maker! / "The Out Of Control Host"
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The East-West Midlands link up 27/06/2020 at 20:28 #128297
thegamer7893
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(Birmingham) New Street, (Birmingham) Saltley, (Birmingham) Aston, Stafford and Derby
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 20:29 #128299
andyallen4014
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Did you not try this before and, along with you turning up an hour late, we just ended up running Derby?
User | Multiplayer Host | Timetable Writer
Last edited: 27/06/2020 at 20:30 by andyallen4014
Reason: None given

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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 20:34 #128300
thegamer7893
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On that occasion, I was at a relatives house and was expecting to be home in time. However this time, I will make sure that I wont be doing anything on that day and will not be late in starting and all sims will be in use (if possible)
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 20:37 #128301
Trainfan344
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To be honest running that number of sims you'd want to do a longer host really to make more use of it
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 20:40 #128303
thegamer7893
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Yeah true so thats why I'm planning for it to be on a day where I'm completely free and not busy
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 21:03 #128306
Rossy
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Sign me up, Would love this!
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 22:19 #128326
thegamer7893
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When this gets posted on the games list, you can sign up there but there will be a roster so people will be assigned to panels and will need also know who has new street (payware) sim
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 22:21 #128327
headshot119
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When you can manage to reliably turn up and host a regular game; say something like New Street with 3 / 4 panels, stick to the start time you advertise, and run it for a good amount of time, then I would say yes come back and canvas opinions for hosting a larger chain.

Don't just assume because you've seen Oj2103 and others host some large "mega chain" that you need to follow suit. Reliability and consistency are key to hosting good games.

"Passengers for New Lane, should be seated in the rear coach of the train " - Opinions are my own and not those of my employer
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 22:22 #128329
thegamer7893
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Before I started to be unreliable, I was actually hosting frequently without fail and up to nearly every week. It was only when I started to play other games and get lazy where I fell off.
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 22:26 #128330
Meld
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Totally irrelevant thread in light of your past history

Feature request for mods : could we please have a report thread button

Passed the age to be doing 'Spoon Feeding' !!!
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 22:27 #128331
jc92
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headshot119 in post 128327 said:
When you can manage to reliably turn up and host a regular game; say something like New Street with 3 / 4 panels, stick to the start time you advertise, and run it for a good amount of time, then I would say yes come back and canvas opinions for hosting a larger chain.

Don't just assume because you've seen Oj2103 and others host some large "mega chain" that you need to follow suit. Reliability and consistency are key to hosting good games.
Agreed. I'd consider myself an experienced user but for me 3 Sims is a maximum. Chaining isn't compulsory for a session to be fun and will need some preplanning to work properly. If rather host one sim and guarantee I have sufficient players than risk a big chain and fall on my face due to a shortage of players or ending up in too deep.

"We don't stop camborne wednesdays"
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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 22:35 #128337
thegamer7893
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Quote:
When you can manage to reliably turn up and host a regular game; say something like New Street with 3 / 4 panels, stick to the start time you advertise, and run it for a good amount of time, then I would say yes come back and canvas opinions for hosting a larger chain.

Don't just assume because you've seen Oj2103 and others host some large "mega chain" that you need to follow suit. Reliability and consistency are key to hosting good games.
Also I would like to say that it wouldn't be as soon as next week. It would most likely be a while before it is actually hosted but this was only a thought and not a complete plan

Last edited: 27/06/2020 at 23:05 by thegamer7893
Reason: None given

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The Midland link up 27/06/2020 at 23:01 #128345
danners430
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I think we're all aware of the history surrounding thegamer, but the least we can do is give him one last chance.

There's a Saltley game on the 5th July (day after the megachain) which he has listed, and on agreement with him I've listed a separate game for Derby at the same time. The hope is that we'll be able to chain the two together, but if all else fails I can take up the slack on Derby if the Saltley game doesn't start as advertised.

If the Saltley game goes ahead as planned, it would make sense to give him one last chance for the mega-sim - he has indicated that he will be splitting the hosting between multiple hosts, so we'll be able to support him if things go tits up.

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The Midland link up 29/06/2020 at 00:14 #128493
thegamer7893
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Just a mod note: Could you move this to the general hosting board please
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The Midland link up 06/07/2020 at 14:40 #129125
thegamer7893
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This multi-chain session is now cancelled.

Mod note: Please delete this forum (if possible)

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The Midland link up 06/07/2020 at 17:08 #129136
headshot119
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Moderator Note - I don't see a need to delete this thread. We don't generally delete entire threads.
"Passengers for New Lane, should be seated in the rear coach of the train " - Opinions are my own and not those of my employer
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The Midland link up (The West Midlands chain) 31/12/2022 at 21:52 #149850
thegamer7893
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thegamer7893 in post 128290 said:
I am currently looking at hosting a huge chained session which will last hopefully between 04:45 (seeded time) and after the rush hour period (09:00-09:30). I would like some thoughts and opinions.
Over 2 years on from the plan (quoted above), I am now exploring the idea of hosting this mega chain but with a change in the simulations used as a result of new purchases. Should I follow through with this plan, the following sims (see below) will be in use (this is all subject to change):
- Aston (free) (3 panels (all panels can be controlled by one person)
- Birmingham New Street (payware) (4 panels)
- Derby (free) (4 panels (although 1 person can cover the 2 West panels (West and Moira West))
- Rugby Centre (payware) (2 panels)
- Rugby North (payware) (2 panels)
- Saltley (free) (5 panels (although one person could potentially cover 2 panels if necessary (South and Stratford))

This would require minimum 17 people (as I would be taking a panel on one of the Rugby sims) to sign up to join the chain and panels will be assigned sim by sim by whoever joins so its (very much) a first come, first serve thing.

There will be a break point at some point during the simulation in order to allow new people to join the session to take the place of people who need to leave early. Should plans progress and become a reality, the chain would be hosted sometime in or after February to allow people to sign up and for me to have enough planning time to ensure that the session runs smoothly.

Suggestions are welcome at this time as this is only in the exploring stages with nothing planned as of now and again, this could only be a proposal which doesn't see the light of day.

Last edited: 31/12/2022 at 21:54 by thegamer7893
Reason: Minor fixes

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The Midland link up 01/01/2023 at 08:13 #149862
andyallen4014
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thegamer7893 in post 149850 said:
thegamer7893 in post 128290 said:
I am currently looking at hosting a huge chained session which will last hopefully between 04:45 (seeded time) and after the rush hour period (09:00-09:30). I would like some thoughts and opinions.
Over 2 years on from the plan (quoted above), I am now exploring the idea of hosting this mega chain but with a change in the simulations used as a result of new purchases. Should I follow through with this plan, the following sims (see below) will be in use (this is all subject to change):
- Aston (free) (3 panels (all panels can be controlled by one person)
- Birmingham New Street (payware) (4 panels)
- Derby (free) (4 panels (although 1 person can cover the 2 West panels (West and Moira West))
- Rugby Centre (payware) (2 panels)
- Rugby North (payware) (2 panels)
- Saltley (free) (5 panels (although one person could potentially cover 2 panels if necessary (South and Stratford))

This would require minimum 17 people (as I would be taking a panel on one of the Rugby sims) to sign up to join the chain and panels will be assigned sim by sim by whoever joins so its (very much) a first come, first serve thing.

There will be a break point at some point during the simulation in order to allow new people to join the session to take the place of people who need to leave early. Should plans progress and become a reality, the chain would be hosted sometime in or after February to allow people to sign up and for me to have enough planning time to ensure that the session runs smoothly.

Suggestions are welcome at this time as this is only in the exploring stages with nothing planned as of now and again, this could only be a proposal which doesn't see the light of day.
If you're intending on being the host and control, I'd advise against committing yourself to controlling a panel as well, there will almost certainly be other gaps you can fill as its rare to get a full complement of people despite how many sign up.

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The Midland link up 01/01/2023 at 20:48 #149904
thegamer7893
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Okay, so what you are suggesting is for me not to take control of a panel but be available just in-case somebody has to go AFK
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The Midland link up 01/01/2023 at 22:55 #149905
Hap
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thegamer7893 in post 149904 said:
Okay, so what you are suggesting is for me not to take control of a panel but be available just in-case somebody has to go AFK
The general idea would be to have "stand by" signallers to take over. Those could be people wishing to attend and there isn't a slot available for them, but they can be available to be "meal relief".

The host would have to be sure that they would be able to have the desired amount of users to cover all panels described and then a few on the side. Otherwise, it would be best to have a smaller session. A large mega chain won't work unless the host knows they have the numbers to cover everything, plus extra. The host themselves would just literally manage what is going on across all the sims, make decisions problem solve the TT when things don't go as planned. It would depend how the host wants their session to go (no problems, some problems, lots of problems)... The host wouldn't be able to do that and control a panel at the same time.

Hope this helps

Craig

How to report an issue: www.SimSig.co.uk/Wiki/Show?page=usertrack:reportanissue
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The Midland link up 01/01/2023 at 22:55 #149906
Hap
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thegamer7893 in post 149904 said:
Okay, so what you are suggesting is for me not to take control of a panel but be available just in-case somebody has to go AFK
The general idea would be to have "stand by" signallers to take over. Those could be people wishing to attend and there isn't a slot available for them, but they can be available to be "meal relief".

The host would have to be sure that they would be able to have the desired amount of users to cover all panels described and then a few on the side. Otherwise, it would be best to have a smaller session. A large mega chain won't work unless the host knows they have the numbers to cover everything, plus extra. The host themselves would just literally manage what is going on across all the sims, make decisions problem solve the TT when things don't go as planned. It would depend how the host wants their session to go (no problems, some problems, lots of problems)... The host wouldn't be able to do that and control a panel at the same time.

Hope this helps

Craig

How to report an issue: www.SimSig.co.uk/Wiki/Show?page=usertrack:reportanissue
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The Midland link up 02/01/2023 at 03:11 #149911
thegamer7893
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Hap in post 149905 said:
The general idea would be to have "stand by" signallers to take over. Those could be people wishing to attend and there isn't a slot available for them, but they can be available to be "meal relief".
This is going to be the first problem because for example, I could say I am going to join the session and then because of circumstances outside of Simsig, I am not able to then attend which already means that the session is one person down.

Hap in post 149905 said:
The host would have to be sure that they would be able to have the desired amount of users to cover all panels described and then a few on the side. Otherwise, it would be best to have a smaller session.
In all honesty, smaller sessions sound like the way to go (personally for me anyway) because of all the planning, etc. and its all good me saying that I want to do this massive chain, but when it session day, those same people who put join on the session page could end up not turning up.

Hap in post 149905 said:
A large mega chain won't work unless the host knows they have the numbers to cover everything, plus extra. The host themselves would just literally manage what is going on across all the sims, make decisions problem solve the TT when things don't go as planned.
Managing the session is the easy part for me, the problem is with the numbers and if you see the responses above, when people don't turn up, problems start to rise and the people who do turn up may have to cover 2 very intensive panels.

Hap in post 149905 said:
It would depend how the host wants their session to go (no problems, some problems, lots of problems)... The host wouldn't be able to do that and control a panel at the same time.
Spoiler alert: I was intending on having a closure on both Rugby simulations and seeing as controlling both the session and a panel would be chaotic, I would definitely need to not take control of a panel and actually manage whats going on to ensure everything is all good.

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