LAN hall in Canberra?

Maybe insurance for many of these buildings/rooms is also an issue, or government licensing restrictions? Just about everywhere I’ve hired usually had a midnight policy.

banjo said :

Ahh Nerdfest, how I miss the late nights of Quake, CS, TFC and lots of pizza!

Now, instead of the AMD Athlon II, Nvidia TNT II, and 512mb ram all spaciously laid out in a beige full tower, I have an iMac an Xbox and a job… how things change 🙂

I think I have a l have a spacious beige tower with about that spec in the garage still… Not really sure why. Has vintage gaming become a thing yet, like vintage motorcross?

majorLazer said :

not totally legal but if you know someone in any of the Unis(ANU or UC)..most of them have computer labs open 24/7. Most of the Labs can fit 20 people and UC one might fit 10 more. Power sockets are aplenty and comfy chairs as well. There is a larger room in ANU labs with space for 40-50 people but it gets locked after hours…

The ANU does lease rooms for appropriate activities – see http://isw.anu.edu.au/daisy/infoservices/2228/350/354.html

I’m not sure what the rules/fees are for this kind of thing, but here are some room suggestions: The Copland building labs are nice (there are a few beside each other that open out to a nice outdoor area) – but no food/drink allowed. Otherwise, Melville Hall and BYO computers.

diced_mango said :

claim at least to be “Christian games”

Or “gamers”, even. Never fear, standard LAN games are played.

Check out http://www.tlegion.com/ – a group that runs LANs in Newcastle and Dubbo. They use Churches and/or Christian schools – and claim at least to be “Christian games” (while perhaps true for an admin or two, my friends that go to this certainly are not). Interesting to check out the rules they abide by to keep the relationship with the host site going (i.e. no smoking, gates locked at night, rubbish taken away etc. etc.) May be a place to start, anyway.

fnaah said :

I can guarantee that you won’t get EPIC for $300 a night. (As I recall, C Pavillion cost us about $1600 plus power distribution gear rental over a long weekend… Q Pavilion was cheaper, but not by much.)

Ahh Nerdfest, how I miss the late nights of Quake, CS, TFC and lots of pizza!

Now, instead of the AMD Athlon II, Nvidia TNT II, and 512mb ram all spaciously laid out in a beige full tower, I have an iMac an Xbox and a job… how things change 🙂

note: that $1600 was TEN YEARS AGO. I shudder to think what the poor CANCON crowd are paying these days.

You might try Canberra Technology Park, or the AIE (same complex) in Watson: http://www.canberratechpark.com

When we used to run ACT Gaming Network events there, we could fit in about 120 people and we had the venue install multiple power circuits in the hall especially to cater to LAN events. The only downside is that we had to be packed up, cleaned and out *before* 8am on Sunday due to a church group having a standing booking there. You’ll also have to hire tables and chairs separately.

We had also run events at the Dickson Community Centre and EPIC – but I can guarantee that you won’t get EPIC for $300 a night. (As I recall, C Pavillion cost us about $1600 plus power distribution gear rental over a long weekend… Q Pavilion was cheaper, but not by much.)

Best of luck, dude.

One of the Uni Refectory buildings?

Tetranitrate said :

Stiffman said :

don’t forget the power. lots of power. especially if you have planned for lots of people.
somewhere like a scout hall may not have much in the way of power, especially if its an older building

This isn’t as much of an issue as it once was, because nobody uses CRT’s anymore.

Actually, CRTs don’t draw a whole heap of power (maybe 100-200W) and an equivalent sized LCD still draws around half that. As CRTs have been phased out, power consumption for high-end machines, especially graphics cards, has gone up pretty significantly. A 400W power supply is about the absolute minimum you’d consider for a decent gaming rig these days. Short version: Power requirements are still something you should think seriously about. Even if you very conservatively budget 400W per person, and are looking at only 20 people, that’s still a lot more than a few daisy-chained power boards on a single standard 15A or 20A circuit will get you. And when it comes to electricity, you really want to err on the side of having plenty of headroom.