Hi GC staff. Apologies if there's an answer for this somewhere, I looked and couldn't find.
We run most of our events in Union Station--and historically, it's very difficult to get a cell signal in that building, and there's no wifi in the past that we can hook up to (at least not that I remember). Is E-ticketing going to be able to work in a situation like that, where we're unable to connect to the internet without stepping outside of the building?
From what I understand, you don't need Internet connectivity at the time you scan the badges. You can download the list of your attendees at any time, then scan the badges even when off-line, then upload the results when you have a signal. The only issue might be selling tickets on-the-fly when people show up.
From the FAQ https://www.gencon.com/attend/e-ticketing:
Will e-ticketing work without a cell or Wi-Fi connection?The Gen Con mobile app can redeem e-tickets when internet access is slow or temporarily disrupted, but will need to be connected in order to sell tickets.
E.G., Running a game in Union Station, player shows up with no ticket and wants to play. Do I need to walk out to the street from our room in Union Station in order to sell a new ticket to that player, or would I scan their badge in the room offline, and then go outside later to upload the data from the transaction?
Looking at another answer, about the player needing to have a payment method on file, I'm guessing that in that case the player and I would need to go out to the street where I can get a connection. I don't know if other locations are limited in the way Union Station is--almost everything I play is over there. But there is really no getting a cell signal in there at all, and without wifi, having to walk a player outside while you are also trying to get people checked in, handout game info, etc, is a significant concern. The walk from the back Union Station rooms up to the front and out on the street, plus scanning and transaction time, is going to be a 5 minute trip.
Is there a plan to get wifi in there? (I'd love that for other reasons :)
That said: You need to have your app previously connected for scanning people in who have already bout tickets. If you are selling a ticket you will need an internet connection to sell that ticket.
Thanks :)