Another Event which could have been fun.....could have.

[Aldo]

OK....now I like events. The lag (mostly) lag infested things that they are, I really like them. I will drop whatever I am doing just to be part of one.

Well, today, strolling through Tir, I see this big enforcer type (actually was a Doctor, but Atrox, wearing tank, and bigger than me with challenger of leviathan on) He was a GM, ARK or whatever. His name was Maienno. "Colonel Maienno Boot Camp Trainer" or something like that. Seemed like a nice guy.

He was shouting "Need Enforcers for boot camp training" So, being an enforcer, I figure I would check it out. He was strict that only enforcers can come along, and for us to start a team. So we did. 6 enforcers, all over lvl 100 (another requirement) were to meet at the coords in Stret West Bank, to compete in a competition.

The competition was this: 2 teams, one Omni one Clan, go into a certain area for a set amount of time, and the team that kills the most inside wins. Fair enough. So, we arrive at the omni base in Stret West 25% zone. Hmmmm. Is this a pvp event? I'm normally not a pvper but...I figure what the hell, why not. Turns out its not a pvp event after all. (I think to myself, why have it in a pvp area then?) Anyway, we arrive, to see the Omni team waiting. Wait...whats this? Where are the Omni enforcers?

3 soldiers, an MP, MA, and NT are there waiting. Hmmm....I thought this was "Enforcer Boot Camp"?

Maienno says "Looks like we have been cheated"

Yeah, you're damn right we were. Now, I dont mind losing. But what hope does a team of enforcers only, have against a team with 2 healers and a pet? (in this situation, or any other for that matter) I wasnt really mad at first, but the more I think about the potential of this being a really fun thing to do, the more I got pissed off.

Imagine it: Teams of Enforcers competing in a tournament for the cup/trophy/bragging rights. I am pissed because 1.5 hours of my game time were totally wasted in a no win situation. This event should have been cancelled. If OT couldnt come up with the enforcers for this, then we should have rescheduled. As it is, I will have a hard time believing what a GM says now. Because it seems we were brought there just to lose.

If it was fair...(even if they had a whole team of lvl 200 enforcers) and we lost, I would have said, good game guys, congrats on the victory. But...as soon as we were done with our part of it, I left, disgusted. The clan GM said "I am truely sorry for wasting your time." I dont really blame him. But maybe I should. I dont know what he knew. But it seems (in this situation anyway), that these GM's maybe lean a little toward OT in things.

Oh wait, unless they have never really played the game before...which by the way funcom does things, wouldnt surprise me. I mean...lets be real....6 enforcers...against a team that can mirror shield, heal, AOE nuke, and has a pet?

Gimme a break

[_____________Swavena]

It's too bad that this "event" didn't turn out.

Maybe the Omni GM didn't look long enough for enforcers. Or maybe too many people were to wrapped up in missions and leveling that no one wanted to take the time.

I really hope that this does not lessen the possibilites for events with help from Funcom and also help from the public.

[___________Fadinaway]

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to make a comment regarding this particular event.

The original intention of this event was to have two teams of 6 Enforcers, one OT and one Clan, fight it out in a contest. It was a kind of friendly battle to death. Admittedly there was a communication error between the two GMs running the event, as it was more of an impromptu event than a 'planned' event.

It was never the intention to have a Clan slaughter and we do apologize if it appeared that way.

I have already discussed this with the GMs involved and there clearly must be better communication on these impromptu events. Please don't let this event discourage you from enjoying other events we have planned.

Regards,

[_____________Cloudeh]

I know what you mean, these events either work or they dont, and its usually the "dont" part.

Infact as people have said since ........always..lvl 100+ only? So, we all have to be 100+ to take part in storys, and we all have to be a uber team of 150+ with healers to take out story "bad guys" or "enemys".


Oh yeah and Look...
Maienno

[_____________Rolller]

I was lucky enough to be involved in the soldier version of this event. It was fun. Both teams did really well but niether where able to kill the last two mobs.

[___________Wrongdoer]

maybe i am wrong on this, but I dont think the game supports creatures than can only be hit by level 100-? So wouldnt that be fun if they put some rampaging kick ass creature terrorizing Tir that was level 50, then we could all watch as a single level 150 guy walked by and swatted it down with one hit, end of event? yeah, that would be a really cool bad guy wouldnt it? What would be the point of epic creatures that were low enough to allow lower levels to do something and yet at the same time it would allow higher levels to solo them?

Arranged competitions could possibly be controlled enough to include 100-, but I dont see how you can claim they could do the same with story creatures with all the level 150-200's walking around? That is just unrealistic at best.

Personally, at first I thought maybe Omni just cheated to win, and I think that is just fine considering Omni vs Clan relations, but apparently that wasnt the case.

[_____________IsmiteU]

From the time I've played I find typed communication is the biggest problem with trying to get large groups of people to follow directions. Here are a couple of suggestions...

If you're going to have events like this and they are going to be impromptu maybe ARK's/GM's should have their own mission booths. after getting the mission it directs them to a web URL. At the URL the can download numbered txt pages to make macros with the information they are to give out to those participating in the event.

OR... add a link on the official AO page that announces these smaller events. The page could explain the specific event, rules, etc..


Hey just an idea...

[Aldo]

Fadinaway- Just so you know, I still think this is an awesome idea. Not sure on the "battle to the death" scenario. But a competition was what I was looking for. It would have been great fun. I don't know if it turned into a pvp fest, I didnt stick around, I was too disgusted. If you need to plan ahead in order to get the right people for the teams, then do so, just post something. Its not like this is the type of event that people need to be surprised with. (not like rats attacking tir all of a sudden or something)

Like I said, great idea, and it was fun (I died quickly because I mongoed...and got like 6 mobs on me straight away...hehe totaly atrox move I guess)

And hey, I am a true clanner...but if we get "slaughered" in a fair contest...so be it. There can only be one winner after all.

Edit: BTW, thanks for responding.

[Aldo]

OOH almost forgot


IsmiteU:
"If you're going to have events like this and they are going to be impromptu maybe ARK's/GM's should have their own mission booths.

Yeah, something like this I suggested before, only I said, if you want an event, small, for one team or so, why not have "special" missions pop up in the regular mission booths, with different icons (color etc) Where the team will have to complete some task relevant to the story line. This would come up once in a blue moon, and would be done in the team mission booths. This would pretty much take care of small events without having to employ a gm or whatever, so they can concentrate on other things, like bigger, sudden events.

Just an idea, feel free to expand on it.

[Bionitrous]

"GM Generated quests/missions" were on the 'Envisioned' page before it was prematurely taken away.

If they would board up the entrances to the Junkyards in Newland Backyards 5 through 12, they'd have 8 wonderful large outdoor playfields where they could restrict access to and set gas levels in for these Envisioned GM Generated Missions.

Just as long as they come randomly out of the mission generator and need a key to get in, it'll be cool. Simply get a key to 'padlock on door to Junkyard'.

[_____________Cloudeh]

Expire
I think low levels should get a chance, as for higher levels being able to solo, THATS what Im on about, shove 500 Mutant dogs in entertainment and let me have a go at a few of them, after all, we are "high" level.

You stink.

[_____________IsmiteU]

I think all of can agree that while AO provides multiple events to which a player can engage in, it wouold be nice if small "mini" competitions amongst the factions would add a little ****e to the game.

I also think that AO itself was a VERY ambitious undertaking and they are overwhelmed with everything thats going on right now. I personaly wouldn't mind (given the power) taking charge of a competition once a week but it would have to be well thought out and on my terms in order to keep it running smoothly.

Everyone seems to want to be involved with AO and it's storyline but I'm not sure if the Funcom people have the time and personnel to open up a really good/better system of communication. One things for sure and that's that Funcom needs to work even harder to keep it's gamers happy considering SWG nd Westwoods "Earth and Beyond" will be out soon.

[Bionitrous]

If they wanted the Arena League not to die one week after release, then they should have made the arenas properly where only one team at a time could zone in and all buffs were stripped as you zoned in.

The arenas should have had translucent domes like that one at the Omni base in Avalon to prevent ganking and outside help.

The Fight Clubs and Arena Leagues would have taken on a life of their own without any help from FunCom if the arenas themselves promoted a believable and enjoyable experience.

End. of. Story.

[Aldo]

Arena league, thats an idea also.

The ideas I have arent really for pvp. There are enough chances for that. I dont believe that this event was PVP based, but who knows.

The arena league sounds cool, if you could actually see inside the arenas, like the idea about the domes though. Also, it should be known if it is team or single fights. If single, only 2 can be in this arena at a time, the one who wins can stay until defeated.

Or something like that

[_____________IsmiteU]

I couldn't agree more with you Bionitrious. Although I wasn't there in the very begining, The points you make are very valid. I just think Funcom wants PvP in the political zones and to follow the storyline instead of being a sport/pastime.

My guild leader once told me a story of one of the AO developers was actually walking around in game asking people what the liked and didn't like about the area he designed. I don't know about you but I play AO close to forty hours per week and I havent seen that. Maybe that's what we all do need to see.

This whole game is starting to remind me of the Valve Dynamix fiasco with Tribes II. T2 was (and still is) a fantastic game. the Dynamix team deeply cared about the product asking for input from the gaming community and often implemented community ideas in the game. Somehow those good employees got screwed and a broke game was released to us the gaming enthusiasts who also got screwed. For people like me who just started with the game all the patches became overwhelming. Couple that with all the individual tweaking required to get the game to run right made it even worse. In the end althought it was a great game I uninstalled it without regret even after buying two copies (one for my son).

I'm not saying this exact type thing is happening with Funcom and AO but like I said.... It reminds me. I hope Funcom takes the hint and listen to the people who are paying the bills.

[Takima]

Miscommunication? Come on, really.

GM1 tells GM2, "I'm bored, lets have a minor PvP event."

GM2 tells GM1, "Ok, any ideas?"

GM1 tells GM2, "Go get 6 lvl 100+ omni enforcers while I get 6 lvl 100+ clan enforcers. When we're ready lets meet at xxxxx and have a free for all."

GM2 tells GM1, "Ok, easy enough."

Am I missing something?

[Bionitrous]

Unfortunately, they don't listen to the people paying the bills. They listen to the people on these forums. I try very, very, hard to speak for who I think is the 'common man'.

I got a feel for most of the players out there and don't really think what we see here on the boards is representative of the overall playerbase.

Heck some of the biggest player polls that have been made sticky only get a hundred sixty votes.

I'll tell you what players are thinking:

"I'm sick of doing missions"
"Give me something to do"

That's all they really care about.

There is not a single option for a group of 6 players levels 115-140 to do other than a mission.

^^ Number one problem with the game ^^

There are no tradeskills. The Unique MOB's are camped and spawn too slowly. The static dungeons have been seized by huge guilds. PvP has no meaning or skill element. There's no story unless you are a GM's buddy or a huge guild. There are no Quests. The one quest there was was camped to hell. Apartments are broken. The only constant roleplaying venue is a sleazy nightclub.

- They need to make tradeskills worthwhile.
- They need to make the Unique MOB's approachable (if not necessarily killable) by all
They need to let people get keys to static dungeons so they can bring their small guilds and friends for a day of fun.
- They need to align PvP more with the Tir Accord and provide meaning to team-based PvP.
- They need to fix the Arenas so that 1 vs. 1 PvP has some value.
- We need a million good quests now so that when you log on you are always in the middle of at least 3
- They need to get guild housing in ASAP. It needs a guild storage box and should be 0% gas.

They need to load up a copy of Ultima Online and see why people are still playing the game 7 years after they opened their accounts and have have two 7x GM's.

[einexile]

I don't understand the complaint here, or maybe I don't understand what happened. The teams were unfair but the contest happened anyway, and the GMs are at fault for this?

If you have two GMs, and one wants to form a particular kind of team while the other does not, and neither views this as unfair or knows it to be unfair, don't the players participating have some responsibility to speak up?

Did the GMs ignore or intimidate you? Did you not get to see the opposing team until the competition had ended? If you did meet them before it stated, how was it you were already cheated before the contest started?

Did you have any communication with the other team at all?

It's unfortunate that this didn't work out, but events on RK will continue to range between dull and nonexistant until the people running them get some practice - as Ernest Hemingway said, "The first draft of anything is sh*t." - and more importantly some freedom.

It's fine that there be a discussion over this, but if these sorts of discussions result in GMs having less freedom, feeling like they have to walk on eggshells, having to answer for everything they do...well, I'm sure that's swell customer relations and for Funcom's feeling of being ethical and virtuous, but no one EVER got something right without screwing up *constantly* along the way.

[Please insert your witless and rude "game still in beta" jokes here.]

Could this have happened if one of the GMs had absolute authority over the event, including the option to change its rules & venue to meet the situation and the option of calling it off? I'm also curious to know why they didn't keep trying until they got it right. Is this not allowed?

[tounkata]

atrox female?

that pic of maienno's info says
breed: atrox
gender: female

did i miss something?

[_______________Chace]

My guess is that whatever "turn into NPC X" program the GMs run just morphs them into whatever they want to be. In that case, a GM might turn into an Atrox just for the visual impact, without changing profession (doc!), level, or gender.

Just a guess.