Official Time for Lights Out!

[Gom8z]

I was just wondering if the good people at Multiplay could maybe work on an official timing of turning off the lights during the night. Or atleast see what gamers thought of this.

I know with Newbury the groundfloor would always keep the lights on due to the stands but it has been a much favoured thing on the 1st floor and the 2nd floor to turn the lights off during the night time and have the glow of neon lights filling up the room.

Does anyone else agree with me that maybe a timing should be made say midnight the lights go off (or heavily dimmed). If any mpuk guys could get back to me with their thoughts would be appreciated.

[jimothyy]

Yeh off with the lights :awesome:

[Morgyn]

Personally, I'd rather the lights stayed on.

[Portia]

http://www.joyofsleep.com/graphics/eyemasks_213.jpg

[Cyphus]

Clearly they should turn the lights off at the start of the LAN while shouting 'Rock On!' ;)

[Jofrak]

I'm more of a lights off gamer myself =P
Therefore I'm voting for Light's out = sunset ^.^

[WhiteKnight]

Tbh, rather than turning them on and off, just leave them off for the whole event.

The exhibition hall and stuff can have lights on, but the main gaming areas dont need it for the most part.

Bearing in mind you will have the glow of 2000 computer screens + neons + USB Desk lamps + possibly a couple of large projector screens.

Look at Dreamhack for an example of this.

http://www.rmaldera.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/dreamhack.jpg

[Mouse_On_Mars]

Desk lamps ftw!
<3 what's left of my eyesight.

[GFiSH]

I'm not bothered whether the lights are on or off, but what annoyed me was when they were constantly switched on and off through the night.

[*Tsunami*]

They should be left on all the time, if you want a darkerned room, wear sunglasses. :cooler:

[Wizzo]

We're discussing the implications of lights off with the venue. It is likely we'll have to provide gangway lighting in that eventuality for H&S reasons. However, you can bet if we turn the lights off we'll have people moaning to have them turned on and vice versa... you can't win :P

At the very least I expect to have the hall lights set to "half level" during the actual event.

[Gom8z]

ta for taking this into consideration..

In the light of the uk's energy saving scheme going on, surely it would be better for the environment if we turned them off ;)

[WhiteKnight]

If you`re gonna be like that why not cancel the LAN... think of the Jiggawatts !! :D

[tucool]

I agree, off.... 'for the environment'.

[Wizzo]

lol ~10kW of lighting vs 600+ kW of PCs... "every little helps" :p

[tucool]

And, everyone who comes to the event should make a pledge to travel the most economic route and unplug all unused appliances whislt they are at LAN. This will save another approximate 4 Jiggawats over the course of the event.

We can also have rolling restarts on the rows, a kinda mexican wave effect.... probably no good for the power consumption but it would be brilliant to watch!

[RoboStac]

lol ~10kW of lighting vs 600+ kW of PCs... "every little helps" :p

Most of the pc's there would be on if we're at the event or not though. I probably save the enviroment by going to lans, due to no second monitor / other electrical stuff that I don't take :P

[Towneh]

www.blackle.com - my homepage, especially good for lan events when the lights are out, else google's main page is EYEPAIN!!

[Volition]

aha. An energy saving search engine, I never thought I'd see the day.

A good experiment with all the lights off would be to get everyone at once on CS:S and stare dead into the path of a flashbang. 'Behold! And there was light!'

Cornea-Frying goodness.

[her0n]

The lights only go off and on at Newbury because the punters know where the switches are right?

New venue = no idea where the light switches are = no problems! :D:

[FailCaykes]

The lights should be on untill say, 3PM ish? giving people a chance to eat/find their pc/Setup if nes
After that lights should be off
from what I can tell MPUK are trying to immitate dreamhack with the whole "too many people in one room" and in this case, lights are not needed, not even dimmed.
There will be enough lights coming from peoples monitors/pc's to be A. Able to see what your doing B. Find your food/Look through bags
ontop of this if you find the lighting off to be a problem, their is an option of a USB lamp, also im sure you have a mobile phone and most of these have lights.
With lights on = NO atmosphere whatsoever
Lights off = awesome

my 2 cents

[Mavy]

The lights only go off and on at Newbury because the punters know where the switches are right?

New venue = no idea where the light switches are = no problems! :D:

Or protect them by a high voltage protection shield?

[Dwit]

Tbh, rather than turning them on and off, just leave them off for the whole event.

The exhibition hall and stuff can have lights on, but the main gaming areas dont need it for the most part.

Bearing in mind you will have the glow of 2000 computer screens + neons + USB Desk lamps + possibly a couple of large projector screens.

Look at Dreamhack for an example of this.


I agree, with all the pcs screens there wont be much difference. ill vote lights off.

[Towneh]

How about we compromise for those who like their eyesight, mood lighting? ;)

[*Tsunami*]

If it makes no difference you might as well leave the lights on. :p:

[Dwit]

k 1 difference :P On: wastes energy, OFF: saves energy. anyways.. its Multiplays decision

[FailCaykes]

tsunami, Lights on it bad for atleast 90% of the lan attendee's 1 they dont like it, 2 i doesnt create a nice atmosphere and 3. I and I like to think more people, find it MUCh easier to concentrate on whatever game your playing with lights out, especially css

[Morgyn]

Easiest way to tell, is to make a poll.

[Mouse_On_Mars]

k 1 difference :P On: wastes energy, OFF: saves energy. anyways.. its Multiplays decision
2000+ light bulbs will be off for the weekend, at people's homes. Swings and roundabouts.

[Morgyn]

Well if the lights are going off, I'm bringing a hoofing great maglight.. I'm not breaking a leg tripping over something in the dark due to you moles =P

[rick_2k]

Strobe lights TBH.. best of both worlds.. for a split second at a time!

[*Tsunami*]

tsunami, Lights on it bad for atleast 90% of the lan attendee's 1 they dont like it, 2 i doesnt create a nice atmosphere and 3. I and I like to think more people, find it MUCh easier to concentrate on whatever game your playing with lights out, especially css

Yes, but the reasons why people want lights on. Lights on reduces eye strain and reduces the likelyhood of people suffering from photosensitive sezuires. For anyone trying to fix their broken pc it's a dam sight easier to do it in reasonable light than the darkness. Additionally it makes it slightly less thief friendly, a dark room makes lifting stuff a bit easier. (however if they are going to steal something they are going to do it, regardless).

Then there is the health & safety aspects, people wont be tempted to sleep at their desks and in the event of a fire alarm, or need to evacuate the building people can do it without risk of injury from to unseen people/hazards.

I really do not see the need to sit in a dark room especially when you are only inches away from the screen your concentrating on? . Sure, I dont want massively overbright lights on in the event (the other extreme), just a reasonable level of venue lights so people can see where they are going.

[oxy]

DIMMMMERRRR SWITCCHESSS!1111

[Saggy]

I think when it gets past 11pm the "DREAMHACK" effect should come in.. and maybe people would relax abit aswell.

[Ryvita]

Whatever people think the health and safety requirements will overrule anything. If the gangways have to be lit then they will be, best you could hope for would be aircraft style floor level lighting if you wish to lower the overall ambient light level.

Those that prefer lit gaming - have you tried keyboard lighting solutions? either flexi-USB lights or lit keyboards? Darkness is better overall for reduced glare from the screen.

[Vikx]

i think a run way type strip of those green led light things you can get would look really cool as a walk way :p

[Morgyn]

I've never had a problem with overhead lighting and glare. Perhaps we can offer the moles sheets to hide under with their screens.

[*Tsunami*]

Those that prefer lit gaming - have you tried keyboard lighting solutions? either flexi-USB lights or lit keyboards? Darkness is better overall for reduced glare from the screen.

Really, I always considered a darken room WORSE for direct glare (from the screen) than a sensible lit room. It's a bit of a balancing act, becuase there are two types of glare, direct (from the screen itself, you can turn brightness down a bit) and indirect (reflection from very bright light sources). Both are undesirable for me, causing eyestrain & eventually headaches.

Even if I setup my monitor brightness right down, the number of other monitors in my fov with "radiation levels" of brightness counter act anything I do to mine. I have tried a lit keyboard before, but found the light so bright it hurt my eyes (in a dark room) maybe I'm just "light" sensitve :p:

[Gom8z]

tsunami check out the Zboard Merc Stealth..

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ideazon-MERC-Stealth-Keyboard/dp/B000VLKR88

it comes with 3 different colours and you can turn on 3 different brightness levels add the fact you can plug 2 usb slots in and add your headphones its pretty decent :)

Shame its quite pricey!

[TomM]

i prefer the lights on - otherwise after a while ijust get a bastard headache

i personally dont care about everyone else wanting them off so they can strain there eyes in the dark :p

[Baldrick]

Lights on, at least while tournament games are being played

[Sonic92]

Lights off = Much better atmosphere.

[Towneh]

http://www.speedcubing.com/ton/collection/Other%20Puzzles/images/Lights%20Out%20Clasic%20Tiger.jpg

[Butterfly!]

tbh lights off, in the day you will see with the light through the windows above and computer screens and in the night 2000 pcs lighting up the room makes it a much cooler atmosphere.

maybe having small floor lighting in the main walk ways and all the other areas can be appropriate but for the main gaming area lights off ftw. From what i've read here and other forums most people want them off anyways, there should be a set time though on when they go out as it's annoying of the switch being in charge of some i series veteran :P

my 2$

[jaff]

im a lights on kinda gal

nah really tho, half and half is good for me... lights are good for deterring theives, spotting vomit and fixing pcs, as well as better on the eyes and less likely to spill a pint

lights off is good for atmosphere

hmmm which wins eh :)

[Gumpster]

Lights off after Midnight (i mean whos gonna build a PC at 2am in the morning).

[EvilGav]

Depends how dark it's going to get with the lights out, i suppose.

It would also mean that having spec's round your PC would be a no-no if the lights were out - darkness and random bodies hanging round don't make for a helpful enviroment.

Personally prefer a darkened room, just enough light so you can see everything around you, but not enough that someone over 20feet away is easily visible.

[ez64]

Lights off after Midnight (i mean whos gonna build a PC at 2am in the morning).

have you ever met a overclocker ;)

half and half is win for me in the day id prefer full lighting though.

[Jofrak]

To be honest I don't really wanna know the mess I'm sitting in ^.^

[Lucifa]

Definitely lights off/dim during the night.
It really screws up your body clock if lights are on constantly, you never know when you should be sleeping!

[Towneh]

lights on and off depending on the time of day to simulate the light outside imo for reasons lucifer mentions ;p

[Neo1607]

I prefer the lights off when i am gaming makes me play better for some strange reason :v

[WhiteKnight]

I personally couldn't care less as long as they are out of the reach of muppets who feel the need to turn them on and off every 5 minutes.

[KamiKaze_PMS]

im a lights on gamer...cant stand the glare as it gives me one hell of a headache

[Sqauggs]

It made my eyes feel dry and started to sting after about 30 mins. My vote goes to keeping them on

[Skillet]

I vote lights on......

[cba]

Lights on but dimmed at night, I hate glowing **** and tbh don't wanna see everyone elses. I don't have a ghey glowing keyb and typing in the dark is a right chore tbh. Darkness opens up thieving, kicking folks crap by accident, spills going unnoticed, all for the sake of folks eyes who take sod all care of them anyways. If you wanna pass out at your PC, get a blindfold, or go to bed

Heat and power issues are non-sensicle for such a size lan with 2000 PCs +

[Jonnerz]

I would rather Lights On as it is alot better for the eyes but as it is only a few nights Lights Off won't do any long term damage. I don't mind either way.

[jamie141999]

Lights out!, well mabye put the side ones on!

[danny305]

I'm more of a lights off gamer myself =P
Therefore I'm voting for Light's out = sunset ^.^

TOOT! me too :P

[bassj18]

we start own mexican wave in computer if get time ! lol!

[squeeb]

Perhaps for the 'gangway' lighting, we could do what Airlines do and have a 'path' of cheapo, stickdown LED strips.

[Sqauggs]

whats the point? why is it sooo great having them off?

[Gumpster]

whats the point? why is it sooo great having them off?

Certainly when i do an all nighter, i know when its day/night :P

[Scenyx]

Lights out, seems good to me =]
more sleep, better chance of playing well =P
Say, lights out at 3PM?

[Jonesy]

Lights out! I can try out my glowing keyboard keys then =D

Jonesy...

[her0n]

whats the point? why is it sooo great having them off?

Lights on constantly can really screw with your body clock.

Personally i'd go for lights dimmed.

[Big Giant Head]

I don't like lights off, I can't see what I'm doing :(

(it's also bad when I'm at my pc)

[danny305]

I don't like lights off, I can't see what I'm doing :(

(it's also bad when I'm at my pc)

Bring a lamp. :awesome:

[ZariS]

don't you think that might be a little scary a whole bunch of guys and the lights turned off ...gotta admit it'd be quite good but a bit scary hehe :P

[Big Giant Head]

Bring a lamp. :awesome:

I love lamp.

[Jez_Gafys]

I prefer them off, more so later on at night when maybe watching a movie. But I aint that fussed if they get left on.

[Scenyx]

Very Simple:

dont like the dark, bring a heck load of torches and lamps
lights on all the time screw up ur sleep patterns
just dim them,

aye

[Shazz]

Or protect them by a high voltage protection shield?


Statis shield anyone?

[oxy]

bring candles .. nothing bad can happen there :D

[Lucifer]

yea man 2000 candles/drunk/tired gamers easy no problems :>:

Lights out ftw!!11!!1!