You are asking me to give away studio secrets, Mimesis.
Sigh - OK, just this once - but only because keeping secrets about conventions is like keeping a dung pile in a safety deposit box at the bank. Much better to just spread it around.
How Conventions Work
Conventions pop up randomly.
There are two types: regular and as part of special events.
They generally show up on the hour, but sometimes on the half-hour.
Conventions have a time limit. Shortest I have seen is 30 minutes, longest I recall is 2 hours.
Each convention is considered a success when the number of visitors exceeds a specified threshold within that time limit.
Normally, each show in the convention takes 4 minutes.
If you have diamond mission boosters (strongly recommended), each show takes 3 minutes.
You can use batteries to cut the time for a single show in half.
For each show you do, you attract a number of visitors to the convention.
The number of fans you have (from doing movies) determines how many visitors you get to your first show.
Each successive show you do gets fewer visitors. It drops off fairly rapidly.
You can spend diamonds to complete a show immediately.
If the convention does not get enough visitors, everyone gets a small experience reward and a horribly bad taste in their mouth.
What You Can Win
Everyone who did at least one show gets a prize based upon the number of shows completed. The prize is generally a piece of gear, plus some experience and energy. The more shows, the better the item, and the more experience and energy.
Good pieces of gear are given to the top 10, and for one essentially random show.
First place finisher gets a piece of gear from a unique set. For regular conventions, the gear is part of the camouflage set. For special events, first place prize is generally a piece you can't get any other way. This prize generally has excellent pluses.
The rest of the top 10 gets a piece of gear from a special set. For regular conventions, a piece from the firefighters set. For special events, something appropriate for that event.
There is one fairly random prize, given for winning show. The show that gets the fans which push the convention over the top is called the winning show. That person generally gets a piece similar to the top 10.
How To Run A Convention
The most important thing to do is decide quickly if you are going to try on a convention. Look at the number of visitors required, at where the convention is located, and the time of day. If in doubt, do something productive. Wasting an hour on a failed convention is a complete and utter waste of time.
If you decide you are going to try, then there are two main strategies from there:
Strategy 1: Spend tons of diamonds to try for top spot, yielding ok-ish gear and energy (but bragging rights!) This is known as the 'trust fund baby' strategy, and is proof you have more money than brains. Spending on conventions is THE WORST RETURN you can get on your diamonds in the game.
But if you want to, go for it. It *is* just a game after all, and if you enjoy keeping Nutaku and Playata solvent, who am I to tell you no?
Strategy 2: If you are in at the start of the convention, you are on mission boosters with three minute shows, you have all your batteries, you can play continuously during the entire convention, and you have absolutely nothing else in your entire life worth doing, then try for a top 10 spot on the cheap. (If you do not meet any single one of those conditions... maybe do a show or two, but then do something else more productive.)
Try a few missions at three minutes per. Check the fill rate - are you getting enough visitors? If the convention looks like it might succeed, then burn your batteries on the next four missions. From there, micromanage the time for each mission. You want to spend very little downtime between missions. It is VERY likely you will end up in the top 10, but very UNLIKELY that you will win the convention as a whole with this strategy. (There is always an idiot with a trust fund.) At the end of the convention, you will have spent an hour of your life to get a nice piece of gear that might take you two weeks to replace. Sometimes kind of worth it, given you have spent no diamonds at all.
Satisfied now, Mimesis? (Flattery will get you everywhere. LOL)
I have retired from the game, but not from life.
In love with my Baby.