Event in TIR - poorly reported by FC - please read FC webmaster

On monday night a few hours before the official event in PM
I carried out an event which my guild and I have been planning for some time.

We had a full press release prepared by a good friend of mine who is a real life producer for the BBC news 24.

All went well, we surrounded the Council of Truth building in TIR with almost 20 "wierd looking bombs" and had a force of 30+ Jets and one Omni-Tek Gunship surrounding the building.

The event was so succesful that there was so much attention that the entire zone locked down for 20 minutes due to the large number of players who were present.

Once we had issued our statement etc we moved away and i submitted our report to the correct place as stated on the AO website.


Much to my dismay the following day i realise that the event has in deed been reported on the AO website, but our own well written report has been ignored and the whole event has been taken out of context.

This is what appeared on the AO website=>

"Adding to the confusion, the Council's headquarters in Tir were subjected to a bomb-scare yesterday, when the building was found to be surrounded by explosives planted by what, sources say, could be militant OT-affiliated dissidents. Vigilant citizens quickly began defusing the bombs – most of which, it turned out, were not functional – while the building itself was evacuated. No one was injured in the incident."

It could not be more vague and incorrect than it is now and it leaves myself and my guild very upset that such a sucessful event has been not ignored but poorly reported after such good material was provided.

The Omni Inquisition report was sent to Funcom.
Full report and pictures of the event can be seen at
WWW.OMNI-INQUISITION.NET

or read our report here =>

<<BREAKING NEWS>>

OMNI INQUISITION ISSUES NUCLEAR THREAT AS PEACE HOPES FADE


Omni Inquisition Forces are to lay a ring of live nuclear devices around the "Council of Truth" Clan Headquarters in Tir, in what is being described as a final attempt to persuade the Clanners to stop sponsoring terrorist activity.

Precise details are still emerging, but it seems highly probable that Omni Inquisition are planning a massive real-time deployment of their entire nuclear arsenal, It is still unclear whether or not Omni Inquisition plan to detonate the weapons. Diplomatic insiders suggest the bombs may be deployed initially as a show of force, in the hope that the sight of such awesome destructive potential sitting on their own doorstep will persuade the Clanners to return to the negotiating table. What is certain either way, is that a major display of Omni firepower is about to take place very soon.

Sources within Omni Inquisition have revealed that their action is due to commence "within hours rather than days" but have declined to state the exact time of the deployment for what they called "operational reasons". Under a heavily armed escort, with Omni Inquisition's Supreme Inquisitor Luci "Lovekitten" Meloche riding in her newly fitted Gunship, will deliver a message to the Council of Truth. The document will set out her demands for an end to Clan-sponsored terrorism against innocent Omni citizens. The bombs will be placed in and around the Council of Truth, and an entire squadron of Inquisition aircraft will guard the area while the message is delivered.

Unconfirmed reports claim that Omni Inquisition have been stockpiling massive quantities of Nuclear and Biological weapons over the past few weeks. When pressed to give exact numbers their press officer, Aleen "Virindi" Gabriel said,
"We have the capability to make a very big bang indeed, but just how big really depends on the Council of Truth. If I was a Clanner I wouldn't be making too many long-term plans right now, especially if I lived anywhere near Tiir. All good people of Rubi-Ka should stay in their homes for the next twenty-four hours at least, as we can guarantee protection to no-one"

Inquisition analysts report that the peace process is rapidly failing throughout Rubi-Ka, and that actions such as this becoming more frequent as Anarchy continues to defy Order. This new development elevates the world to new heights of tension as we await outcome of the next few hours in Tir.

-----------------------

I am more than open to have amended this if it is seen as too extreme for the AO site, but then again why was it even remarked upon if it was too far fetched?

We will continue to do our events with the support of other players, it would be nice for the web person responsible for news to send me a reply about this or even post my report since there was no official report on the Omni affiliated paper.


Your "militant OT-affiliated dissident" as FC seem to think


Jennifer A.K.A "Lovekitten"
Supreme Inquisitor to the Omni Inquisition

'Dona Eis Requiem'
www.omni-inquisition.net

Hello, I'm a newbie at this game, but I can deduce a few things about why this didn't come off the way you planned, as well as make a few comments.

1. I'm sorry you feel it was poorly reported, perhaps you would prefer that it was not reported at all? :)

2. Well, you are an "OT-offiliated militant group", are you not?

3. Player run events will never be as well-reported as storyline events, or taken as seriously by Funcom.

4. Obviously Funcom reserves the right to add, remove, change, any such reports you provide them, as well as determine what is reported on the "neutral" AO homepage news.

5. Have you ever known any news source to get the story completely right? There are as many points of view on an event as there are people who witnessed it.

6. Are there even nuclear weapons in this game?

7. How would an Omni-affiliated squad bent to do mayhem even get that close to the main Clan stronghold? I doubt that the Clan forces would have stood there and let you plant bombs no matter how overwhelming your force was.

8. What about suppression gas? How were your troops even able to feel that violent? :)

Yes, it was probably too far-fetched, so in reporting it they chopped it down a little. I realize that nothing I say here is likely to make you feel any better, but there are some things to point out, the main one being:

Funcom runs the show, not us. I believe they are being wise (and magnanimous) in trying to incorporate player events into their storyline, but in the end: it's their storyline.

Players integrating into and adding to the storyline is a great thing, but a difficult one to keep under control. It would be great to have the storyline move COMPLETELY under the control of the players, but it's not practical or possible. It would truly be "Anarchy Online" then. :)

I feel your event was an overwhelming show of force that could tip the scales of the delicate balance maintained between Omni and Clan. If either side gets too much of an advantage, where is the conflict? If OT wipes out Clan or vice versa, where's the impetus to do anything? AO becomes another UO.

I agree with you, continue to do events, that's what makes this game great. Funcom understands that too ... with no social interactions, this game becomes another ... you guessed it ... UO!

But understand before you begin that Funcom will decide how your event fits into the storyline, if at all, and there's really no other way it can work.

Thanks for listening!

- Sllaagor (JubalHarshaw)
Clan Atrox Enforcer

Im afraid i do not agree with most of your comments.
You look to have almost cut and pasted the AO guidelines for storyline events which i am already fully aware of.

There have been far many far more exagerated stories used on the AO website sent in by players,Dark carnival and Aberic is merely one example and the whole point that they did report it in a poor fashion shows that they accepted such an event in the game.

- yes there are nuclear weapons, we collected 20 of them see the screenshots on my website.

"Yes, it was probably too far-fetched, so in reporting it they chopped it down a little. I realize that nothing I say here is likely to make you feel any better"
- after this comment i loose all interest in your post!
Their report couldnt be further from mine, not simply chopped down!

"Funcom runs the show, not us. I believe they are being wise (and magnanimous) in trying to incorporate player events into their storyline, but in the end: it's their storyline"
- It may be their storyline but there is room to manouver within the game, a mere article that can be classed as Omni news propoganda on a website should not alter the overall story.

If we have the power to create such a succesful and well noticed event to the point in which the zone crashed because it was so crowded, surely it is in the best interest to support us?

And how did such a group manage to get sneak there, how did the dust brogade blow up Omni 1?
-We simply flew in, plus i have a Omni-Tek gunship and i have yet to see a clan vessel that can shoot back =p


less excuses and more solutions please.

This post was not intended as a rant, i would just like an OFFICIAL answer, well not an answer a SOLUTION! and then i will be a happy customer!

Actually, I didn't even look at the guidelines until after I posted my message. :) I told you I was a newbie.

I'm not disagreeing with your points, I just think you have a somewhat unrealistic view of player involvement in MMORPGs. Hopefully AO is better than most that I've seen but in the end
it's probably not.

You made it clear that you're not interested in my post and want an OFFICIAL answer. You should probably /petition or email someone then, not post in a public forum where anyone can respond to your rant. Which is what it is. :)

"after this comment i loose all interest in your post!"
Fine by me, just remember, Funcom has control of what gets
posted on their Anarchy Online website. If you feel misrepresented, post the truth on your own site. Ah, the beauty of the internet!

"If we have the power to create such a succesful and well noticed event to the point in which the zone crashed because it was so crowded, surely it is in the best interest to support us?"

Why, so you can just crash their zone again? :) I do think it is great though, that kind of well-organized event.

I'm not making excuses, (it's not my problem any which way, I had nothing to do with it.) just commenting. I'm also playing devil's advocate, which I thought you would have noticed by now.
I'm a player (a role-player, no less) too and I feel the same way you do about most everything you've stated. I just try to interject the other side too, to keep an open mind.

The issues that plague most MMORPGs are myriad and, as I said before, we are lucky that Funcom wants so much player input. Few other MMORPGs do.

Keep up the good work.

Regards,

- Sllaagor
Clan Atrox Enforcer

I'm pretty new to AO, but I've kept up on the storyline and read all the background story and press articles posted on the AO main site. One thing that I found interesting is the variety of Rubi-Ka media outlets that release these stories and the distinct political slant of each. I was impressed that Funcom added the element of various news outlets each with their own 'spin' on the events of Rubi-Ka.

First off I'd like to congratulate you and your guild on the successfull event, sounds like alot of planning went in and from the screenshots it sounds like it went off well.

As for the description of the event, I think you have to consider that it was published in The Voice of Freedom. This publication is described as:

"a much-praised (and much-maligned) source of clan-oriented news, articles, and editorials, strongly tinted by the politics of its anonymous editor"

Naturally a news outlet that is politically slanted against Omni-Tek is going to present the story in the most positive (or least negative) light, one that will suit the political goals of the editor.

From your description it sounds like your event was a show of force intended to discourage further attacks against Omni by the Clans. A Clan-affiliated paper isn't likely to publish your statement word-for-word without putting their spin on it, which is to downplay the seriousness of the threat and reassure people in Tir. How often when there is a bomb-threat does the media convey the exact statement or demands of the person making the threat?

The statement obviously spins the story by:

-referring to your group as "militant OT-affiliated dissidents", implying that you were not acting on behalf of all Omni-Tek

-downplaying the actual threat with phrases like "Vigilant citizens quickly began defusing the bombs – most of which, it turned out, were not functional" and " No one was injured in the incident"

Again I think this was a great idea for an event and I'm impressed that you pulled it off so well. You just can't expect the Clan media outlet to praise you for it, and it seems unlikely that Omni-Tek would want to put out a story that makes it look like they are coercing the Clans into a settlement with the threat of nuclear weapons. I'm sure anyone who was there was impressed by the work your guild put into the event, even if the mainstream media were unwilling to pick up on it =)

Let ne get this straight, you commited a terrorist act against the Clans in order to persuade them to stop terrorist actions against Omni-Tek?

Did you have ti many martoonies when you thought that up? :)

you did get Props in the Voice of Freedom spam feed. Say 2 mentions of you bombing attempt every hour to every member of the clans on RK. Thats not bad, imho

"you did get Props in the Voice of Freedom spam feed. Say 2 mentions of you bombing attempt every hour to every member of the clans on RK. Thats not bad, imho"


Ahh i never knew that, in that case i feel a lot happier it was noticed!

Shame my guild never got mentioned though..

Watch this space for more events! and our next shall be even more controversial and fun!

Well, I admit that FC has done a horrible job reporting player events, but in general you can't expect a media outlet to print your version. Their job is to report the news, not to act as a propaganda machine for anyone who sends them a press release. Ask your friend at the BBC whether they would reprint a letter from a terrorist organization as a news story or write a separate story themselves.

Scorus

I am not surprized FC toned your post down and changed the context. If you are to have a player event it is best to have it fitting into the theme of the story so far. A guild setting off nukes in Tir or even getting them anywhere near Tir would be just not possible.

Under normal conditions you would have been found out by the guards and stopped. But you must understand this was not possible under the current game structure. You just went to far this would have been a major step in the story and would have lead to all out war in AO. But players dont have and should not have that power of control.

Otherwise you would have people claiming all types of rubbish. For example Snarf claimed he was major of Tir while this was just harmless fun and we saw it as this, he made a good point in showing us you could claim anything. The game would just be choas with each group or person claim even greater things just to get bigger headlines.

I am fully behind players trying to make things up but you have to play with in the ideas of the games current position. The events which haved been reported in full did fit into the game or FC thought that it would be possible. With your event this was just not the case as you posted it, I would be surprized if many people would have thought it possible to even do the event as you describe.

Please dont feel as if you should give up doing player events, but I would suggest you think carefuly about what you are going to claim before doing it. You may even want to have a chat with some of the players and people on the IRC they will give you a view on if they think it would be going over the top.

Kirrana

Thank you, everyone, for renewing my faith in actual Role Playing on the Internet. This sort of intelligent discourse is exactly why I quit playing Ultima Online and am now here.

So far today I have been in political debates about the "terrorism" story arc, met many cool people when playing "In-Character", and now I am here debating player events. This is more fun than I've had in ages. Thanks!

Player events are the icing on the cake that is Anarchy Online. But I agree that we should not over-reach ourselves when it comes to great events ... I think it may be possible to start with minor events, build a storyline, communicate ideas with FC and ARK, get some interesting side plots going ...

I started playing an Atrox ... I would really like to see a story arc that leads to the Atrox becoming a full breed ... raids on Omni-Med, etc ... I posted in further detail in "In-Character" ... bottom line being, in the end I would like to pay my dues and become a member of ARK. I've worked in customer support for many years in the computer field and I feel I could be beneficial. I think there are many players that have a lot to offer.

In the end, it will be the intelligent discourse between players and the company that is putting on this fine presentation for us that really makes AO everything it could be. I'm glad to be a part of this, in any way. :)

Best regards,

- Sllaagor
Clan Atrox Enforcer

Regardless if FC reports your events or not many people wish to participate in exciting and far fetched events because this is what AO is specifically lacking.

Standing around in baboons simply is not fun after you have done it once before and therefore we shall continue to make our own exciting events in AO.

I had nothing but compliments in game about how we had pulled it off, and that was from Clan players who thought it was excellent that someone had got the guts to carry it out instead of the usual standing around shouting by Tir grid.

As for anyone making all sorts of absurd claims, well let them, as long as they can back it up in game.
One low level player can scream he is king of Rubi-Ka but he wont ever get noticed.

I have a stable guild of over 85 members as well as friends and influence in MoK, DC and the T.B.A guilds, i can and will back up any event we do.

It has now come to my attention that we were indeed mentioned on the clan radio broadcast, ive never seen our weekly leet fight at the arena make the broadcast so we must be doing something right!


Jennifer A.K.A "Lovekitten"
Supreme Inquisitor to the Omni Inquisition

'Dona Eis Requiem'
www.omni-inquisition.net

snarf is far from low level :)

nobody said he wasnt

did u report this event to fc before it took place? my thoughts on it would be that if u reported to them like a few days before u did it they would probobly help u doing it and integrate into the main story better. i remember hearing about nukes in tir it scared my guild mates and i and we were on our way to defend our homeland but didnt make it till the zone locked:)