Friday, July 1, 2011

[Legit Goods #4] Battle Station 1

'Sup guys?
As I have promised you like a week ago, I'm going to post some pics of this LAN shop called Battlestation 1. Now, if you have been in our place and have been here for quite a long time, you might notice that there are TONS of LAN shops around. For the information of all, this is the "in" business since the past decade, and will be in the next one.

About LAN shops, as I have said, there are many around here and Battlestation 1 is just one of the best ones to hang out in. And by "one of the best", I mean there are numerous chains of this shop around the city (e.g. Battlestation 7, etc...).



How the system works here (and some protips too!):


1. If you desperately want to use a PC by the time you arrive, you MUST COME EARLY OR COME AT THE TIME THE STORE OPENS SOMETIME AT 8 O'CLOCK.


2. Secure a time ticket, and MAKE IT FAST! You don't want to run out of seats (considering the fact that you are too lazy to go there at 8) when you do this. A time ticket is needed, as it contains the code that is required to be entered in vacant PC's to have your prepaid time logged in.


Buy your prepaid time or food here at the counter. Yes, you've read it right, you can buy FOOOOOD!


Protip #1: DO NOT LOSE YOUR TICKET!

Protip #2: Buy the 11-hours ticket, and nothing else if you are a habitant of this shop. It is only just worth 100Php in our local currency. It would be a ripoff if you would buy the 1-hour ticket which is worth 15php. That's a 65Php saving!


3. Because this shop is public, don't expect the PC's to be in excellent condition. Select a PC (if you have choices), and make sure it has a funtional peripherals such as the mouse and keyboard.

Protip #3: As I have said, because this place is PUBLIC, secure your personal belongings and be vigilant against theft of any kind. I know, it sounds NOT VERY NICE.

4. After you have selected your PC, log in by using the time ticket you have.

Protip #4: Have some friends for goodness sakes! By this, your job in selecting or reserving PC's would be a lot easier. This is because when you have a lot of people to spot for vacant seats, you will have just to negotiate to them that you will use it, and no one else (unless someone negotiated first to them).

5. Play, and have fun!

Protip #5: DO NOT COMPLETELY DEPLETE YOUR TIME! It will disable your ticket, and it will be a big bother because you will have to buy a new one when you can just refill it.

Protip #6: RETURN THE FAVOR... ALWAYS! Now, if you want to log out or your time is depleted, check if one of your friends wants to take his turn to use the PC you have been using. Negotiate!




Now, on with the pics! (No more watermarks! YAY!)



When you enter the shop, this is what you will see. In the left-hand side of the pic, that is the front isle of the whole shop while the right-hand side is the center isle.



Closer and more personal view of the massive row of gamers using the PC's. Don't worry, they didn't see me get the pic. :D



Another view of the front isle with the spectators visible. Oh, you can also spectate and wait for the seats to be vacant for your turn!



Blurred vision of the front isle, with the sunshine from outside visible.



The center isle, with PC #53 in the foreground.



The back isle.



Some guy in PC #27 playing an online FPS game called Crossfire. The left guy is playing Cabal Online, a fantasy / sci-fi MMORPG.



A guy playing DotA, a "hit" game in our country. Basically a map/mod of Warcraft 3. View it like this: If Korea have Starcraft, we have DotA.



My friend "DarkLaw" playing RAN online, A school-themed MMORPG.



Another view of "DarkLaw" using PC #52.



This is what Battlestation 1 looks like when they are having maintenance.



Another view.



Gamers outside the LAN shop after a power outage. Damnit! Notice that there is a computer shop just beside Battlestation 1. Serious business it is!


Pros:
125 AMD-powered PC units
Cheap rates
Accessible, since it is just adjacent to our school. I know right!
Nest of Pro's


Cons:
Screwed up peripherals
The NOISE! Better bring your own headsets!
Cases of theft observed here. Sad part.
Teeming with schoolboys cutting classes. Don't worry, they are reported. I guess?


Overall Rating: 8.1 / 10 in the Battle Scale!
All images used in the content of the blog belong to the author.

21 comments:

  1. Awesome post, I like your blog.

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  2. we don't have lan shops in our country. It would be great to play in one of them someday.

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  3. That's a lot of computers in one room. Doesn't it get really hot?

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  4. lol nice lan shop. seems really coool!

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  5. I've been wanting to go to one of these where I live but there's none.

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  6. That's an insane amount of people there.

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  7. @The Dawg
    Nope, it doesn't get hot in here, unless five of the AC in the shop doesn't work. :)

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  8. Haha yeah it would take five AC's to cool that place down, with that many people and that many computers it could be hell on earth.

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  9. What's funny is no lie about 2 hours ago my friend called me from a LAN center and asked if I wanted to go, said they were packed. I thought of this and quickly denied.

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  10. good ol cyber/internet cafes, in America they definitely aren't as big a deal

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  11. I've only been in a Lan twice.

    Both times were when I was out with a bunch of guys and they were like, "Let's play starcraft!" and I had no choice but to head there with them.

    I tried using Facebook but it got boring, so I started playing Starcraft with them.

    ...Needless to say, the guys were impressed. :D

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  12. Looks hot in there..and noisy as you said.

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  13. I don't really know what to think about it. But looks like someone is making some money with that battlestation 1

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  14. Thats a wild process to get some game time.

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  15. wow thats actually pretty wild

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  16. Lol, I'll be all teh 1337 pr0s hang out there. Wonder if there is any place like that around here. Cool blog! Followed!

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  17. You gave it a good rating. I agree with it 100%. Nice review.

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