Yes, Rheinland could have focussed more to keep traders from reaching Freistadt. That's true. The trade part of the event was best when traders died and there was serious fighting at the base. That was what I had aimed for, and - to be honest - I think it worked.
The plan was: distract Rheinland forces to Briesen by the bomber attack. Disengage the bombers and have Hessians entangle Rheinland in a fight near Briesen, O11 Hole. It worked. During that time, the first wave of traders got through. Worked. Rheinland refocussed and locked down Freistast... and that worked, too. Traders died there. We heard it all over the comms.
Later the battle drifted and the traders were not focussed on any more. I agree. But there were 3 runs for me that were tense and one that made me sweat because it was insane.
So I think the trading part was overall fine. I book it as a success and the part of the event that worked out as planned.
Second: The PvP
May sound sarcastic, but: every pvp event will produce negative feedback of some kind. I was aware that inviting factions that are frequently clashing IRP and OORP will trigger unhappiness. But both parties had to be in the event for reasons of keeping it realistic.
Yes, I could have taken all the responsibility in selecting players, forcing to register, asking for PvP skills, etc etc etc... no way! I can't do that. No one can - and succeed. The result would always be the same. Because pvp in FL is never completely free of rage, fights are never completely fair... whatever you try.
I had hoped that the "no one can win or lose" and the "be fair and have fun" statement would have made it clear. Obviously it did not, which I cannot influence.
Personal Consequences / Lessons Learnt
Yes, next time I will use FR4 from the beginning.
And last minute surprises will not catch me off-guard. That was a mistake that an organizer makes when he does it for the first time. Honestly, I don't think the fact that EDGE was in on the side of Rheinland was so bad. The numbers would have been much more unbalanced if they hadn't been in there. I can't comment on the actual problems in the fighting, because I wasn't there.
If there were problems (as this thread states)... please realize them and don't repeat them (at least in events I make. You might not be invited again, since now I know the exact wording of FR4).
I do the same (learning from experience) and won't repeat the few mistakes I made. =)
I braced myself for an overall negative criticism for the pvp part. I got that, as expected.
I would have hoped for a more differentiated feedback that is not only focussing on the pvp part and its (game inherent) problems. I didn't get that.
