How difficult is it to get a ticket as an outsider nowadays? I remember publicly available tickets selling out in like 3.5 seconds a few years ago.

I tried it last year at every slot and had no chance at all.

Lots of tickets could be found on "Kleinanzeigen" after that and I think the club was quick to get them deleted and try to contain Scalping as much as possible.

With the newer, bigger location, I hope chances are better for a solo person. Hackerspaces have a reserved package I think, but I'm not really affiliated with those in my area, so that's not really an option for me.

For now I got a hotel reservation, that's just as important... :-D

I don't think there is outsiders vs the rest. Either you propose content, accepted talks or workshops, and you can come or you buy a ticket. Everybody has the same "chance". If you miss the ticket but really want to come you can try your luck at the entrance, there are usually always some people who can't make it but it's of course a bet.

I remember a mechanism where you could redeem a single-use invite token, which would return another single-use token when consumed, which could then be chained idefinitely. Local CCC groups where given a few such tokens to get their members and friends in.

This is still a thing.

Yea, I'm trying to figure out how to attend. I've been PD approved to go, but I can't figure out how to plan around getting a ticket, booking airfare, etc