I want to add to what Jammi said, while including some numbers from my Argonaut pov. I will try to outline where we made mistakes, but also where there was opportunity for various sides to "catch up".
The server was live from right around 6:12PM. Aka people could log back in at this time.
It took me 8 minutes to check things and set-up the updated Argonaut in position. Right after this, I announced that a jump hole to earhart was available from Tohoku in sector C5. Unfortunately, I screwed up the details, as its true position was closer to D5/6, 5k off-plane.
I was informed that the hole said "Tau-23", which is why I included the fact that the exit was mis-labeled in the console message. I realize now that I should've been more clear about this, and repeated the message with more accurate info later. I did inform someone in the KNF group about this, so I was hoping they would pass it along, but I should've also sent another console msg.
At 6:26pm, I sent out the event start message, because I saw a good amount of Kusari and Liberty players in Earhart.
At this point, Kusari side is already around me, as I presume they used jump drives. I ask for directives, but no one responds, as a big battle starts further away. We wait about 5 minutes before someone gives me the order to follow them.
Soon after, a fight breaks out, and it's clear from the first few minutes that 2k is too generous, as Liberty snubs are able to delay me while still being able to dodge with minimal issues. I wait a bit longer and make the announcement about the reduced range to 1k. Ironically, this apparently ends up affecting the Kusari side more, who are much lighter in terms of hp.
At 6:48pm, I am now in Liberty's control, and asking about where to go. I am directed to "Zurich", as Kusari stragglers delay my progress briefly. I warn the Liberty side that something is off by repeatedly saying "Attention: rift is unstable.", but I am told to resume course. By this time, I see that some people have made it through, but no one tells me to abort, so I assume people are ok with duking things out in Kepler. Of note, I do not know which exit is Kepler, as I deliberately didn't double check to keep it a surprise for myself.
At this point, the Argonaut is pathetically pleading for someone to send it a course, as the deathmatch resumes. The hacker reveal happens at around 6:57pm. There is plenty of hard fighting happening around Ames between all 3 sides, as I wait to see if anyone can provide me data. Note that at this point, if someone took it upon themselves to escort me through Shikoku, I would have followed.
With no one stepping up, I take matters into my own hands to progress the event. The Argonaut receives a friendly message from Ames with coordinates, and follows its last objective given to it by the hackers. This happens at around 7:10pm. The Argonaut slowly moves through the corridor towards the Colorado hole, as my thruster is gone.
At 7:23pm, the Argonaut jumps through to Colorado. By this time, most people could have respawned from the earlier fights, and use the latest information to set up an ambush there. But no one waits for the hackers.
At 7:29pm, the Argonaut has made it to the Ontario hole.
At 7:36pm, the Argonaut has made it to Cochrane, but we decide to prolong the event. The Argonaut receives a last-resort attack from the Liberty side to shut down, which I announce will last 10 minutes.
In the final minutes of the shut-down, Liberty brings a bunch of heavies, and some players remember about the destruction threshold, so they begin shooting me to deny me to the hackers. At this point, my game crashes (perhaps due to reaching the threshold?), and I have to leave due to irl stuff so I figure it's a decent end to the event. I do manage to send out one last message about the ship jettisoning its cargo.
So in short, I could have and should have provided more information, but people also had plenty of time to re-group and set up a blockade. I think for the future, I will plan with even longer transit times in mind. However, do note that the Argonaut was disabled before the end without too much dev interference, so people still did good when they were able to organize.
I also apologize to the Kusari side, but the moment the Argonaut slipped away towards Colorado, we could not retain you without creating a substantially OORP situation where the KNF essentially invades Colorado, hence why I told people who asked to switch to the KOI id if possible. It was essentially luck of the draw that people chose the Kepler exit, which is arguably more Liberty-favored. I hope people enjoyed the fights - with 78 kills this event was definitely up there in terms of points (Cannae had 115 kills, but also involved the biggest faction of the server and their main opponents).
