Northwest VF (Pacific NW, North America)

Re: Potential Redmond event

South Park? As in Colorado? That's way too far from here! This wouldn't possibly be big enough to warrant a trip of that magnitude! Oh, wait, Google Maps proves me wrong yet again. It's great to see that there's interest from the area.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

I am going back to Japan...on june 25th?

I am leaving from WA on june 21st though. I hope I can meet you guys before going back to Japan.

Unfortunately,I don't have acar,and I have no idea where I am living. the only thing I know is that I am in Lynnwood... hahaha.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

Oh shit! That's what I wanted to know. I don't know if you made it to Preppy's tonight but hopefully we can hit it up before you leave for the summer.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

Oh shit! That's what I wanted to know. I don't know if you made it to Preppy's tonight but hopefully we can hit it up before you leave for the summer.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

Lynnwood is about 30 minutes North of Redmond. As for meeting up sometime, you not having a car could complicate the matter. If Femto's in South Park, then we're both probably about the same distance from Lynnwood.

If Femto has a car, we could meet at a place closer to Yosuke, and that would minimize the time spent on the road by those that have access to a car and allow Yosuke to not worry about transportation.

Another option would be public transportation. Bus fare is cheaper than gas prices anyway, and the King County Metro runs through all the surrounding areas out here.

Any other ideas would be appreciated, as well.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

hmm.... to get to redmond, where should I go? north or south? I have been to chinetown before.

oh my gosh it is killing me...

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

To get to Redmond, it would involve taking 405 south. I'd recommend checking out Google Maps (maps.google.com). They have a really good directions system. If taking public transportation, check out the King County Metro trip planner (http://tripplanner.metrokc.gov/cgi-bin/itin_page.pl?resptype=U).

The first one is better for driving directions, the second lets you figure out what buses and transfers to take. Of course, the trip planner requires more specific addresses. Either way, those sites are good for directions. Google Maps, in particular, is really good for figuring out where places are in relation to one another.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

I should note that Femto and I have both played on Yosuke's campus. There's a nice place to play the game if anyone brings the PS3. That said, I don't know what their policy is on guests (it's a recreation room for the students living at the dorms at Edmonds).

My guess is Yosuke will still be living in the dorms next year.

Kinzel, thanks so much for pointing me in the direction of the King County Metro trip planner. I've been looking for something like this. I figure if Yosuke can master the Japanese public transportation system, with some time and effort we can make him a master of Washington Public Transportation. But of course I'm always happy helping with transpotation when I can (as much as the price of gas can massacre my wallet...).

-Chanchai

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

The metro system here in Washington seems pretty garbage, tho'. I know to get from Burien to Capitol Hill it takes like 1-2 hours. By car, 15-25 minutes.


I was going to bring up Yosuke's "pad". I wish it was my pad but it's small as fuck.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

I don't really think that qualifies the public transportation system as "garbage." I mean, the bus has to stop for other people, too. Unless you're comparing it to another city's transportation system, that's a very unfair statement. Granted, I haven't lived in many places that have public transportation systems, but this system covers a way larger area than any other one I've seen.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

So here's my report on my small, local friends VF5 night last night.

As of Friday night, it appeared as though the turnout was going to be big enough to warrant me spending the money necessary to prepare some incredible hot wings, so I called one of my friends, who shall be referred to as SR, to see if I could use his Costco membership to go get the necessary ingredients. He agrees, and says to call him back at about three. So, at about 3:00PM, I call him to see if it's a good time, and he tells me that he's on his way to Frys Electronics (wonderful place if you aren't familiar with it), and we'll go to Costco on the way back. At five o'clock, I call him back, he says they're on their way back from Frys, will be here in a bit.

Three hours and lots of unanswered cellular telephone calls later, I get fed up with it and ask another friend if we can use his membership the next morning. He agrees, and fortunately is very dependable.

So, bitter and hungry, this second friend, a guy I hang out with most of the time, and I go to a Chinese restaurant only to find SR there.

Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter, after I get back from the gym.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

lol, know how that goes! But keep on persisting, the effort eventually pays off.

I think I've gone to some crazy lengths, myself, and they've eventually worked out. Heck, I am pretty excited that you're coordinating on the Redmond end, and I think that the Seattle scene is starting to really come together.

The Portland scene is running nicely and I hope Vancouver, BC will be up next!

Too bad I'm not close enough to lend you my Costco card. It's a black card too

-Chanchai

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

Chapter 2:

The next morning, I woke up early from a wonderful dream about the weather forecast predicting cool, overcast weather for Saturday and the next week. Upon realizing it was only a dream, I wiped the sweat off my forehead, took a cold shower, and began packing my PS3 and Virtua Stick to take to a friend's place. We elected to move the wings/VF night to his place because mine gets very hot and everybody we invited knew where his place was anyway.

We met up with AO, the friend who was letting us use his Costco membership for the wings makings, and went to go get groceries. As an aside, Wings Night has been a long-standing event in my circle of friends. We typically have anywhere from ten to twenty people show up. Because of the expense of making the wings (which comes to around sixty dollars), we cut our losses by asking that people who want wings pay five dollars. Of course, we'll also let people provide extra things, like sodas and whatnot, and waive their fee, so all in all we usually barely break even, including when a large number of people show up.

The main reason I decided to make wings was that it appeared that enough people were going to show up to make the price burden reasonable. I had told people to show up at about 7:00 or when convenient, except for one person who was providing potatoes for French fries, who was asked to come at five. He did, and we had thirteen pounds of wings and ten pounds of French fries prepared by seven o'clock. I called several people to double check that they were coming, and was completely unable to contact anyone, particularly SR. I was counting on him to bring two other people, one of whom would have provided a second fight stick so we could play VF the way it's meant to be played. I was also unable to find either of people he was to provide transportation for.

In the end, we had a grand total of five people show up, so we all got plenty of wings and leftovers and played a lot of VF in Stick VS Controller matches, and at 9:30 somebody decided we should watch Afro Samurai, so we watched all of that, then some other games were played as people left, and at 1:00 another roommate's flight got in.

So, in all, the night was more or less a complete failure, but I feel that can be blamed on someone else. I'll still try to have another VF night at my place later in the month, before Yosuke leaves, but exact details will be scarce for a while, and there most likely will not be delicious wings.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

Actually, they changed the policy for the Costco card, the only one who can use it is the person whose picture is on it. It's really sort of ridiculous, since we can just have him pay then pay back, but it's something of an inconvenience because it involves checks or cash, which involve going to the bank in person at some point. I think we all are aware of how terrible bank operating hours are.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

I will go to Preppy's party if it happens before 21st.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

Still a good story and now I'm in the mood for wings (darn you!).

I hope the competition was pretty fun in the VF though /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif When it comes to VF, lots of people is awesome, but having just a few who are all having intense matches is just as great. But in general, the more the merrier, and the more likely you might get VF to grow.

Keep with it Kinzel, and I will definitely try to make it out to Redmond a few times this summer so we can meet up and play.

-Chanchai

 

NORTHWEST VF REPORT (Posted 6/03/07)

It's June now and Summer is established! The weather's been nice in the Northwest and the VF is lookin' good!

Here's your Portland VF Report (from Chanchai's perspective anyways), covering the Art-House Gatherings this past-weekend.

VF might be coming to Preppy's Poker Nights soon
Unfortunately, there wasn't a way to get Yosuke to Preppy's ever-popular Poker Nights in Kirkland, WA. What is good to note is that a lot of people want Yosuke there, including Yosuke /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif Things will work out in the future and I am glad to see that the Seattle players are getting more and more interested in VF (not to say they weren't before, but I think we're hitting the tipping point for Seattle VF).

I was happy to see that Preppy even made a nice offer to anyone who could help Yosuke with transportation (he would cover that person's buy in or tournament fee, their choice).

Enter Redmond VF!
TheKinzel has made his presence known on VFDC and is working on developing a VF scene in Redmond. I am very happy to see this and it should make the competitive dynamics of the developing VF scene in the Northwest all the more interesting and exciting.

Parties, Parties, Parties
At Preppy's you have poker, MvC2, and what I've heard is a cool and competitive bunch. In Redmond, it sounds like you're gonna get some darn good wings (I LOVE wings) and more great people to chill with--and I can't wait to meet them too. In Lynnwood, you'll get an amazing player and a fun and crazy Japanese guy named Yosuke. In Portland, you have the Art-House which is jam-packed with competitive games, booze, more of that Northwest Chill Factor, and even mini-tournaments now and then (happening on the day of tournaments).

Conclusion: A Strong Summer Kickoff!
We're not at the tipping point yet, but I think the train tracks are rumbling hard--Northwest VF is coming alive and I think there's a lot of great stuff coming this summer.

I want to do the best I can (without sacrificing my job performance at work) to help nurture a strong and competitive Northwest VF scene. I also want to do the best I can to bring Portland's level up. I tend to give advice and they can take and leave it, but I'm trying to help /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

As a friend of Yosuke's, I also think that as much as he can help a local VF scene, the scene can also help him by giving him more social opportunities, people to speak english with, and that he can have more great times in the US.

Though Yosuke will be gone during the summer, Northwest VF is gonna be great. It'll prepare for an amazing path to building up for Evolution 2008 even! I'll try to come up to Seattle and Redmond in the coming months.

Also, hoping for that Vancouver scene to emerge stronger than ever too. They do have a VF legacy as well and it's a great environment.

VIVA LA NORTHWEST VF!!!

-Chanchai

P.S. An Art-House report will be coming sometime in the next day or two (that's the intention anyways). It'll cover the VF that was played on Friday and Saturday night. It should include very early basics on very basic Moral-style play (something we all could improve on), probably a thing or two on Lau, areas that RaybladeX could improve on (some of which he's already addressed, but it's worth everyone's while to know the common problems that Ray and I encounter), I will probably even dabble into a critique of my own awful habits and game. It'll be a constructive post.

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF REPORT (Posted 6/03/07)

Actually, if Preppy's event is in Kirkland, I suppose I'll try to show up to that. It's only a few minutes away from where I live. I'll still try to build up my incredible combo of wings and VF, but, at least to start, it'll be mainly a social gathering, as I have only one television and am new to the whole "hosting social gatherings" thing. I'll try to hold it again before Yosuke leaves, I'm thinking around June 16th, and this time I'll open it up to people in the area who are interested. Bear in mind that it's all subject to change, but this is what I'm looking at.

Anyway, if it does happen, five dollars will get you plenty of wings and fries. If you're more interested in the VF than the wings, you're welcome to show up, but may be sorely disappointed. Again, this may happen, or it may not, it may even end up moving to a different, nearby place. It all depends on factors which are not easily predicted, like weather, illness, allergies, confirmed visitors, and more.

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF REPORT (Posted 6/03/07)

I'm gonna PM you my # Kinzel.


Do you all think more people posting on the map will help out a little as well. We only have two people listed yet more people play....just a thought.

 

Re: Potential Redmond event

So there's myself, Yosuke(there for KOF as well) from this site going to Preppy's next week.


DaWolf57 and JALbert from SRK going to be playing VF5 as well.


That's like 4 people. I'm sure other people will get in on that shit as well.