![[H]ardOCP](/images/blank.gif){kind=small}
- Date:
- Tuesday , August 19, 2003
- Author:
- Sean Pelletier
- Editor:
- Kyle Bennett
- Google +1
QuakeCon 2003
A peek into the world of QuakeCon 2003.
Introduction - BYOC
Gathering a cult following over the course of the last few years, QuakeCon has quickly become the Woodstock of the Computer Gaming community. Once a year, thousands of gamers migrate towards Dallas, Texas armed with the latest hardware and enough caffeine to wake Elvis for one last show. As each year passes, the show has grown by leaps and bounds. This year proved to be no exception as organizers saw an incredible response for registration. With over 2000 BYOC attendees and over 5500 total registrants, 2003 was by far the largest QuakeCon yet. Fortunately, those running the event had enough foresight to bring QuakeCon to a new venue. This year, the event was held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in Downtown Dallas. Those who attended our Winter [H]ardware Workshop will be very familiar with this venue as it was the location of the event last December. Having QuakeCon at this venue ensured that space would not be an issue and that gamers would be fragging in the lap of luxury throughout the weekend.
Walking through the doors of the hotel, you instantly realized that there was something of a grand scale going on. From the waves of gamers going up and down the hall to the line at the check-in counter that seemingly went on for miles, fueled by early birds there on Wednesday. There was no doubt that this was the place to be in Dallas. Although it was easy to see that the hotel was packed by looking downstairs, nothing could have prepared us for the amount of people waiting to register and drop-off their systems on the second floor. Rows of gamers complete with systems and monitors were stacked like cord-wood up and down the halls of the second floor. Walking up and down the rows, it was great seeing the variety in both systems and people. Along the way, I came across the most pristine-looking mullet I have ever seen in my life. The sight of that guy rocking the mullet would have made the wait worthwhile. Speaking with our own Brent Justice after the BYOC doors had opened, we found that most gamers had waited upwards of five hours to get their rig through the doors and up and running! It was not like that wait to get into the doctors office though, these guys were having a party.
Walking through the doors to setup our own rigs, we saw that the lights were still completely on. It was only a matter of time until the natives grew restless. Although the light certainly did facilitate setting up systems more quickly, those who were already fragging were eager to have the dark room they were accustomed to while gaming. Comparing the two images above which are roughly taken from the same position, you can see that there is a dramatic difference between the two. Once the lights were dimmed to the point seen in the second picture, they remained that way throughout the weekend.
Within the BYOC area, you could play nearly any title imaginable. Over the course of the weekend, we witnessed just about everything being played at some point. Titles such as Q3, Vice City, UT2003, and Desert Combat seemed to be the favorites though other titles such as Warcraft 3 and the original Quake managed to make a few appearances. Regardless, there were always a large numbers of gamers fragging 24 hours a day, so finding a server for gaming never was an issue. It was incredible to see that many gamers fragging away in one room, all without a hitch thanks to some exceptional planning on the part of QuakeCon’s organizers.
Having more than 2,000 gamers in one room, you can imagine the wild hardware configurations which could be seen. From one corner of the room to the other, you could find anything from your generic systems from Dell, small form-factor rigs from Shuttle, to the most outrageous home-brewed cases one can fathom. Although most systems were relatively similar in looks and design, there were certainly a few cases that stood out amongst the rest. Taking a glimpse at the last picture above, you’ll see the wild system our Editor-in-Chief brought to the BYOC this year. In typical [H] fashion, the system was essentially the fastest personal rig money can buy. Comprised of two of the fastest Opteron processors available using the VIA K8T800 chipset, more HD space and memory than most small LAN parties, and the latest $400 graphics card the system was definitely a speed demon. As a result, Kyle enlisted the help of a top-notch craftsman at Wahoo Computers to cut and airbrush the fiery case you see above.