My feedback is pretty much the same as last year so I won't bother repeating myself. In short, it's a very fun event and thank you for hosting it and keeping it the way it is.

On stuff that was different:

• I'm not a fan of having stream 1 and 2 in the same room. The audio bled over between streams a lot and stream 2 kept having to put up with bouts of applause or laughter from stream 1, disrupting their separate schedule. I'm speaking as an audience member, of course, but I'm sure it was just as noticeable for those watching at home.

• very glad you went for a full-blown arcade this year instead of just having a few noisy machines in the lobby area. That said, as a big fan of Jubeat, I feel I have to take you up on your source. You had two cabinets designed for Jubeat Festo (the latest) and one for Jubeat Qubell (old). But the game data you had is for Jubeat Clan, which is prior to the latest. As far as I know Clan isn't available to consumers anymore but is easily available on private trackers, sooo... well, anyway, however you got the game data, you did a very bad job of modding it. You can patch out the tutorial and unlock all songs for guests, you know? That's what GDQ does. And they have Festo.

• also on the arcade: if you were watching at all during the week, you surely noticed that the rhythm games are BY FAR the most popular attraction. Consider investing in more of them. And perhaps some better-known ones (did someone say sdvx?)

• the number of PCs you have available for common use has diminished every year since I've been paying attention. Why is that? The "PC room" only had about 8 computers in it and was packed 24/7. I feel really bad for anyone who wanted to practice a PC run, let alone me and my friends just wanting to play some games. No chance.

• Seriously can they PLEASE FIX THAT ONE ELEVATOR!??

Well, I have to say well done on hosting such a fantastic event this year. You've improved so much on previous events - Where do I begin? Having the event at a hotel instead of a big open room is a really irreplacable part of the experience, speaking as a multiple GDQ attendee. And on the subject, wow, that hotel and location was incredible. The arcade and PC/gaming rooms were something that I felt was missing in previous ESAs. Really glad to see you've evolved past just having one big room with a bunch of computers. I absolutely love the idea of the streaming stations provided by Elgato, only wish I'd found out about them sooner so I could've reserved better times on them. Hope these will return. Game schedule was fantastic. I've felt that other speedrun marathons have had really weak game lineups in recent years, so it was really refreshing for there to be so many games I actually wanted to make time to watch. Now, the free ice cream and popcorn was really above and beyond. I don't know how a venue can be so comfortable offering that to 400ish people, but they did it anyway. Although - I hope I don't sound too entitled saying this - is there any particular reason it was only available between 3-9 pm? It seems quite short and arbitrary. I can't not comment on the complementary breakfast provided by the hotel, either. Can they please tell me where they get their pancakes and the strawberry jam? I need more of those.

The only negative I can think of that's worth voicing is the hotel's policy of no outside food on the first 2 floors. Naturally, food groups are a big part of these social events, and when we've all gone out to Dominos at 9:30 pm, what are we meant to do with our pizza? Sit and eat it on the street curb? Sure we're allowed take it to our hotel rooms, but none of our rooms were big enough to house a party of 8. It would've been really nice if they'd have the dining area open or something, just anywhere that we can sit and eat our food without having to go back to our rooms in small groups.

There are probably even more positives that I'm forgetting. Seriously, thank you for such a great event.