Some thoughts about gm led events.

[bilbous]

First off I want to say that you guys putting these things on is very appreciated. I know it sometimes sounds like it isn't but the fact is they add a lot of interest to the game. The amount of work you do in constructing the sets is often amazing. The tent on the hillside where theodor croaked was well appointed and showcased some extravagant items. I totally wanted to loot the gloves off the beds. The various locations in prior portions of this ongoing event were similarly well done, the alchemy station in the derghir house, especially.

One thing you might want to consider in the future is to teleport the local fauna to different locations (outside the playable area) so they do not become distractions. I think this is possible and it would have done a lot for the first fight for theodor if the 'sangs had been gone, and in the latest case the grendols too. Perhaps instead you could turn them off completely but that is less optimum as some people may not be participating and want to take advantage of critters in other areas.

The event comment form is not ideal as the window is too small and there is no way to edit your comment once it has been submitted. I made one comment that I thought was praise and it was taken as criticism. I would go back and clarify but it is not possible.

I gave Edwindel Revange 6/10 which is a positive rating. I mentioned the thing I found especially good first then offered a few thoughts that might help. I'm a middle of the road kind of guy and it is unlikely I'll ever give out a 10, nor a 1. Herding cats is a difficult job and that is what running an event really is.

[Rucan]

I think the events are helping increase the number of players on and having random events should help even more. Makes one stay on more so they don't miss anything.

Unlike Bilbous, I am the type that I either like it or hate it. I would rate all the resent events 8/10 or better. They have been well planned and had some surprising twists.

Keep them coming!

[Pierre]

A 6/10 is a 60%, which is a fail academically speaking.

Either refrain from giving numbers or give a 6/10 when you think the effort was minimal and the result unsatisfactory.

If the only thing that bothered you was fauna, but the death of Theodor was well played and the settings were awesome and a good time was had by all, 60% is harsh.

I am sorry I missed it, I wish he would get resurrected!  It's happened before.  He should come back without a limb, like all the good bad guys do. 

Anyway, cheers to the GMs old and new for hosting the event, much appreciated 

[tman]

That's the problem with using a number system without clearly defining the scale.  On one hand, a 60% is a failing grade if you're coming from an academic setting.  On the other hand, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being very bad, 10 being very good, and 5 being average, 6 is a positive score.

The scale is pretty meaningless in my opinion because different numbers mean different things to everyone.  So I think people shouldn't put emphasis on the score and instead focus on the comments.

Regardless of peoples' scores, we're all glad for GM events. 

[bilbous]

Thank you tman.

I've written this diatribe and I'm going to post it. take it as it is. I'm not changing it now.

I guess it depends on which academy you attend. In today's world where every kid gets a ribbon and nobody is allowed to fail I can see 60% is a fail. Then again what is the point of having a scale from 1-10 if a 6 isn't solidly in the middle? It indicates to me that it was a solid effort but could use improvement. Could I have been more generous? Sure. The numbers are part of the form, I did not choose an arbitrary scale, I used the scale presented to me.

There was a place for comments in the game UI, I made some, and they were misinterpreted as to how I meant them. Just like you are misinterpreting my comments here. The comments here were additional thoughts about how things could be improved, and should not be considered exhaustive. Why on earth would they ask for opinions if they only wanted glowing reviews. I have been contributing to this game for a very long time. Why would I still be here if I didn't value the efforts made by the team members. Why haven't they banned me if my contributions are so entirely negative?

Why didn't they spell revenge right? I'm sure it was a typo but it was too insignificant to mention. I'm sure that some of the other problems I didn't mention are beyond their control, having to do with the servers connection to the internet, among other things.

Moral of the story is never make comments when the thing that instigates them is fresh. Don't expect me to live by it, it isn't going to happen.

[Pierre]

Everyone misinterprets you?  I'm a sensitive person and often take things the wrong way, so I can buy it for me.  However, none of the GMs exhibit this behavior.

So maybe your idea of a realistic and honest review is skewed towards negativity and pessimism.  Something to consider.

* Pierre shrugs.

Agree with tman too   

[EDIT:  Didn't realize the scale was not optional (if I understood you correctly).  Also, no one said you are entirely negative - sounds like you were painful in some way and that was expressed to you.  It happens.  Either use it to self-reflect and adjust or complain that people misinterpret you and just want pats on the back.  It's clear from the forums and the Meet the Devs Q&A and tons of events that the GM/Dev team are looking for feedback and not simply pats on the back.  Better to self-reflect.

This is advice I give to myself as well, it's too easy to blame other fools in the world and not look at myself.  And it gets me nowhere when I do that.  And now I will hop off your thread although I will keep reading it.]

[bilbous]

You interpreted 6/10 as a failure rather than as slightly better than average which I intended. How is it not fair to say I was misinterpreted? You interpreted what I said using your situational bias (college grading systems) instead of how I intended with my personal bias (statistical relation)?

I don't want to be specific about the original misinterpretation and will only say that I believe it was honestly made because of the terse way I expressed what I thought was a compliment to open the review, and possibly a cultural or linguistic mismatch. It is often difficult to parse the written word as is shown by the plethora of literature graduates pumped out by the ivory tower. It was as much a failure of the author as the reader, probably more so of the author.

[Volki]

A 6/10 is a 60%, which is a fail academically speaking.

Either refrain from giving numbers or give a 6/10 when you think the effort was minimal and the result unsatisfactory.

No one rates non-academic anything in an academic manner. 6/10 is a good score for a movie, a game, a taco stand, and so on. Seriously, Pierre. Bilbous is not an idiot.

[LigH]

Regarding the event "A little lost" (extra smirk for the word play), I believe it was a good example of a common problem for events with a large bunch of participants: They forget to become a group. Some have an urge for being the first somewhere, no matter if they are certain that there is indeed the place where they are expected (and sometimes the hints can be sparse or misinterpretable). So, suddenly, everyone is elsewhere, and therefore most of them are probably missing some interesting parts of a follow-up subevent. Instructions may either have to be more accurate, or when vagueness is desired, there should be more organization and teamwork – not to let half of the party down without a clue.

[bilbous]

Bilbous is not an idiot.

Says you hehe, thanks

Indeed LigH a lot of the problems are attributable to the herd of cats participating. No clear leader, no clear direction. Everyone wants to be the one who gets the item reward.
Personally I think paying the ransom then killing the villains was not a good outcome. OK, it took some cash out of the game, maybe, the corpses could not be looted, but it doesn't make a lot of sense. That isn't too much of a problem if you consider the affair as a Black Flame initiative as it engenders fear among the populace. But what choice was there? The villains were invulnerable until they chose to allow the attack. Some talking clearly had to be done. Me, I would have slain the guy in Camp Banished out of hand and used magic to determine where to go from there but it was not an option.

If you go back to pen and paper role playing a good game master is willing to throw out his plans and wing it if the players do not follow what he has prepared. Naturally he'll be upset if it happens all the time because it takes a lot of effort to come up with these things. But the scene was set, how the action goes does not have to be a straight line through all the checkpoints laid out.

[cdmoreland]

Things are looking up and events are booming! I was just a little disappointed that Waesed didn't get a blade Saturday but someone had to stay back and heal the front-line fighters, although, I got some good hits in with magic. Helped take down 4 or 5.

[gonger]

Just my 2 tria on the topic as a whole...

First and foremost, these events are a very good thing, they are always fun, and they attract old and new players.
Concerning the scoring, on a scale from 1 to 10, the average score is 5.5, so 6.0 is just above average - positive, but not very positive.
Rewards can always be a problem - some people may easily be disappointed. I do not join in because there are rewards, but of course I am pleased if I receive one. It shows to me that my attempts of RP are appreciated. During an event, Gonger will never tell anyone what to add to a potion, but when the rogues appeared at the trial, he was the first to block the door.
Waesed, I do not believe good fighting was the base for the rewards in Saturday's event. Remember, Gonger was the first to be killed, but he was killed because he as a character was making a stand against the rogues.
Finally, I refuse to comment whether Bilbous is an idiot or not. 

So thanks again to all who organize events, and to all who join them.

Gonger

[cdmoreland]

Gonger, Waesed was only a little disappointed, and I liked the tria reward anyway. And, as you say, it's not really the reward that matters but the enjoyment of the event. I like the events that don't give rewards, also.