[Official Event] Operation Pesticide

[Haste]

I have never agreed with this kind of policy, and I never will. If players can't influence large changes in the story, then participating feels hollow and pointless. Morale was very low on the Zoner side because people felt like no matter what they did, it wasn't going to matter. I understand where you're coming from, but there has to be a better way to do it.

For what it's worth I can personally see events where more than just the details can be decided by the players participating, but I do also think it's important to keep Story a little bit grounded. The "heroic defense" by the Zoners can be written into the game's plotline but ultimately making the Zoners successfully defend a planet like Erie right next to the capital of what is still probably the strongest (militarily) House in the sector, isn't realistic or feasible.

This was an open event. It was an "anyone can show up for either side" event. Had we wanted 1:1 results for the event and the storyline, we would have had to rig the event (more than we did) and have a small band of Zoners fight a much larger and better-equipped Liberty armada. Or allow Liberty's players infinite respawns, but no respawns for the Zoners at all. But would that have been fun? I don't personally think so. We have to make some concessions somewhere.

Like I said though I can see events where we either have limits for the participants on either side, or smaller stakes than an entire planet, where the outcome of the event can be more directly translated into the game's story. There are definitely factions and possible conflicts that aren't as "David vs Goliath" (I am aware of this being a bad example) as "Pennsylvania versus Liberty".

The event's description also indicated that the outcome would be affected by the battle, and that felt like it was going to mean more than just whether or not transports managed to get away. As it stands, it felt like the tremendous effort put in by the Zoners wasn't acknowledged at all. The CNS report even says that the Zoners retreated or were dispersed, which is not what happened at all--in fact, it was the other way around. I can chalk that last bit up to inRP bias of the reporter, but still, it felt very misleading.

Systems changes are being worked on for the next patch that reflect the outcome of the event. It will have a lasting effect on the game world.

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