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So far robharn has created 11 blog entries.

Juggleblog: Four-Port Arduinos at The Big House

The Big House intends to use four-port arduinos for Melee this year. But we need your help!

For those who don’t know, the four-port arduino is an external accessory that sits between console and controller, allowing for a legal hardware solution to the universal controller fix wished for by a significant portion of the Melee player population. The four-port arduino allows any player on a setup to toggle between universal controller fix or vanilla Melee; it’s the player’s choice when they plug in. The four-port arduino has been manufactured in small quantities up to this point and tested extensively to success at Melee locals in the United States by the 20XX team comprised of:

Stephen “Streamlord” Kasmir
Kyle “Simple Controllers” McDowell
Aziz “Hax$” Al-Yami

So what’s the situation with The Big House?

There aren’t enough four-port arduinos in existence yet. While a few dozen of these impressive devices have been manufactured and tested at locals for the past few months, The Big House is a major event that requires way more equipment than the typical tournament. Because of this, the 20XX team has begun the manufacturing process for several dozen additional four-port arduinos. The catch is since we’re only three weeks away, the urgency of this process has forced manufacturing to begin in good faith before being able to raise enough money to cover it all. This means there’s a huge cost that needs to be recouped, and we’re hoping that’s where the community can help out.

While the following numbers aren’t nearly enough to cover everything, it’s what we deem reasonable to make four-port arduinos happen at The Big House in the short amount of time we have. The 20XX team and The Big House team are asking for the community to help us raise:

+$2500 to bring the four-port arduinos to every Melee setup at Big House

+$2500 to provide additional support for the ongoing manufacturing process

 

Sounds good; how exactly can I help?

* Buy items on #TBH8 Compendium and choose the four-port arduino goal

* Direct donate to #TBH8 Compendium and choose the four-port arduino goal

* Share this post with friends in the Smash community

 

Again, The Big House intends to use four-port arduinos for every Melee setup at this year’s event. But we need your help, and we need it right now. Please consider supporting this effort via #TBH8 Compendium so that for the first time at a major, players have a choice on every setup between playing on a universal controller fix or playing on vanilla Melee. It’s what the players deserve, it’s what the community needs right now, and we’re very close to making it happen for The Big House and beyond.

More information about the four-port arduino device itself, including technical specs and QA, will be provided by Aziz “Hax$” Al-Yami in a YouTube video aiming for release on Monday, September 17th. I’ll update this original post with a link to the YouTube video when it’s uploaded.

Best,
Robin Harn / Juggleguy

Join The Big House 8 discussion! This year’s installment is set to take place on October 5-7, 2018 in Detroit, MI.

#TBH8

@TheBigHouseSSB

Big House Blog: On Demand Side Events

Everything you need to know about Frostbite-style On Demand Side Events

Frostbite-style On Demand side events take inspiration from similar events found at Magic the Gathering Grand Prix as well as FGC money match culture. It is a way to play tournament level matches where something is on the line so they will be slightly higher level than your average friendly set in the overnight venue.

Entry is $1. We only accept $1 bills so make sure you bring some! Once you register for your chosen event you are placed into a queue until there are 8 players ready to compete. Once all players are ready, one of the players will take the bracket to a volunteer who will run the bracket at designated stations to play out a single elimination, all matches best 2/3 bracket. 1st place will get $5 and 2nd place will get $3 of the collected prize money.

To avoid pot splitting, each tournament bracket win counts as a lottery ticket for sponsor prizes, so make sure to give it your all until the very end! Our side event schedule and sponsor prizes are currently TBA. However, here’s a short blurb on every side event we offer so you can prepare in advance:

Competitive 1v1

This is by far the most popular side event. It plays exactly how it sounds. The ruleset will be exactly the same as the #TBH8 main event. Get in extra practice before your pool or get revenge after your bracket loss.

Low Tiers Only

The Frostbite Low Tier Hero Award was the inspiration for this side event, and it is extremely popular! Try out this unique metagame where you can battle with and against Smash 4’s most underrepresented characters. Only the following characters are legal (Tier E and lower on the Smash 4 Backroom Tier List V4): Mr. Game and Watch, Ike, Wario, Roy, Charizard, Little Mac, Palutena, Pac Man, Falco, Bowser Jr., Dr. Mario, Kirby, Wii Fit Trainer, King Dedede, Ganondorf, Zelda, and Jigglypuff (Miis TBD).

ALL RANDOM

This is kind of a mix between “For Fun” and “For Glory.” You will be forced to select Random at the character select screen and the stage select screen. Don’t worry! The Random Stage Select will be set to tournament legal stages only. Players may not gentlemen to a non-legal stage or to specific characters.

Items Insanity

Have a little bit of “For Fun” action! Similar to Competitive 1v1 but with one big change, items are set to medium. Random Stage Select is in effect, but it is set to tournament legal stages only. Players may gentlemen to a non-legal stage if both players agree.

*NEW* Make-Your-Own

This was born from a cool idea by Frostbite 2018 attendees. Get a group of 8 people together and agree on what special rules you want to play under! Want to find out who the best of a certain character is? Gather 8 of your fellow character mains together and play a Ditto Bracket! Have an interesting “For Fun” gametype you play with your friends? Gather 8 people and inform the staff to turn your event into an official side event! There’s endless potential here. We’re really looking forward to see what people come up with!

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Still have questions? Please contact:

Vayseth, TBH8 Wii U Event Director, @Vayseth_

Hyper Crasher, TBH8 Wii U On Demand Side Events Director, @Hyper_Crasher

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Join The Big House 8 discussion! This year’s installment is set to take place on October 5-7, 2018 in Detroit, MI.

#TBH8

@TheBigHouseSSB

 

Juggleblog: Smash 64 at The Big House

The Big House team is really excited to be featuring Smash 64 as an official event this year! We also want to announce that we are partnering with the Boss Battle series to ensure Smash 64 is amazing this coming fall.

As you may have noticed, these two events happen on back-to-back weekends. This actually affords us the opportunity to work together on various ideas to make both events even better than usual.

Some possibilities we are currently floating around include: compendium donation matching, registration discounts for attending both events, and consolidated goals for far-away players to stay the two weeks.

While exact details are not finalized yet, we want to get the word out that the TOs are on the same page and working towards mutually beneficial ideas to help Smash 64 continue growing.

Boss Battle takes place September 28-30, and The Big House takes place October 5-7. Please stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks!

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Join The Big House 8 discussion! This year’s installment is set to take place on October 5-7, 2018 in Detroit, MI.

#TBH8

@TheBigHouseSSB

Juggleblog: The Big House 7 Venue and Hotels

Hey all. I’m excited to announce The Big House 7 , coming up October 6-8, 2017, will be hosted at the world-famous Cobo Center this year! The Cobo Center is the biggest convention space in the state of Michigan, home to other huge events like the Detroit Auto Show and YoumaCon each year. Here’s why you’ll love our new Big House venue:

* 67,000 square feet of space in one central room. That’s twice the size of the total square footage from last year! If you’ll recall, last year at TBH6 we essentially hosted the event across three medium rooms, which understandably came with some logistical constraints. This year at TBH7 we are hosting the event in one much larger room, which allows for more creative flexibility by organizers and better comfort overall for attendees.

* Walking distance to several nearby food, hotels, and entertainment options in downtown Detroit. One of the biggest pieces of feedback over the past couple years was the lack of good food options within walking distance of TBH5/TBH6 venue. That won’t be a problem anymore, as the Cobo Center is located on a friendly street in downtown Detroit with a ton of food and entertainment options nearby.

* Located only a short ride from Detroit Metro Airport, with inexpensive transportation options to and from. It’s a straight shot on the highway from Detroit Metro Airport to the Cobo Center, which means you can take a short trip on any ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft and get from the airport to the venue in about 20 minutes. Convenience for travelers, especially those from out-of-region, is always a priority.

* Discounted hotel room rate for TBH7 attendees. A hallmark of past Big House events was the camaraderie that came with staying in the venue all weekend. Although the Cobo Center isn’t a hotel itself, we have two great hotel options within walking distance this year, allowing you to Smash all weekend while knowing your housing is just a few steps away. Book now and stay next to the venue for a true major Smash experience!

All this information and more can be found on the location page of The Big House website from now on, for your reference.

Looking ahead, registration will open July 1st on smashgg. Keep an eye out for an early bird registration promotion 🙂 and for now make sure you book your hotel room asap!

Join The Big House 7 discussion! This year’s installment is set to take place on October 6-8, 2017 in Detroit, MI.

#TBH7

@TheBigHouseSSB

 

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