Automated Events Thread #1,000,000

[AlexCCCP]

One of my main points is this:

large group PvP and PvM events (and a huge swath of other potentially awesome events) are simply unachievable without certain mechanical systems in place. When was the last time you saw a 10v10 CTF? They just don't happen... a player simply could not make such a fun thing happen without staff help or an IMMENSE amount of work (and then it'd probably get griefed). PvM is obviously pretty much completely outside a player's power.

Heck, why not take it a step further?

Pay 500,000 to some orc NPC and you start a raid on a city.

You get a gump letting you choose which city to raid
You get a gump letting you choose to pay more for extra mob spawns or special events
You get a gump letting you choose to other aspects of the event (infinitely customizable) for more money

Then suddenly *poof* a broadcast message "The Town of X is under attack by ___ and his gang. We need to beat them back before Y", and if the shard doesn't step up to the task and destroy all the "boss" mobs, then the town is taken over for a while, and whoever paid for the raid gets some renumeration of some kind--incentive for them to help the raid succeed and for other players to stop the raid--those that stop it would be awarded out of the cost of the event based on the number of kills they got or some other point system.

With the XMLSpawner system (at least as I had hacked it into Rel Por), one could code that up in XMLSpawner scripting in a few hours--way less time than it would take to prepare even as a staff member hand-running the event. And it would be available regularly--perhaps even in an automated way, easy to limit it to once per week or per day or whatever.

Sounds pretty fun imo. I don't see anything trammel about it. Oh, and it's automated. Hurray! Gold sink + PvP + PvM + no staff intervention required + player driven = fun... sounds like a pretty good equation to me.

bazookas for President!

[Abyz]

Ole Bazook knows his stuff!

[GoldMember]

Summary: If you disagree with bringing tournaments back or having any form of ranked PVP there's a good chance you suck at all forms of PVP and quite possibly real life. If you disagree with this statement consider yourself up to speed.

All the screen shots and feeble minded nerd rage in the world cannot dispute the current leader board as it stands.

http://my.uosecondage.com/Events/TourneyBoard

If you cannot find your name there... You suck. If you beg to differ you should be advocating for the swift return of tournaments in some form.

Note: If you agree with bringing back tournaments you may still suck, but at least you agree with me and that makes you a little bit cooler in my book.

[Light Shade]

Summary: If you disagree with bringing tournaments back or having any form of ranked PVP there's a good chance you suck at all forms of PVP and quite possibly real life.

The premise that forms of "ranked" PvP in a 15+ year old wizard's game could possibly equate to being a success in real life may be the most idiotic thing I have ever seen posted on these forums...and that is really saying something.

[iamreallysquall]

Something that I would like to point out which is relevant to this discussion...

While it's true that certain mechanics existed on UOSA to support guilds such as the Bloodrock orcs, the reason that these mechanics exist here, and existed on OSI servers, was to support an RP environment. As an example, on OSI servers, there were many special quest events held for RP reasons that involved special items or mechanics. One such event on the Catskills shard involved secret passage that was activated by key word (I don't recall the keywords anymore). Another example is the Shadowclan orcs on Catskills, who literally took over the Yew orc fort as their own special RP area (see screenshots in the history section for pictures of special chests and other additions). Other such examples included bona fide blessed houses, which were blessed and decorated in ways that couldn't be achieved through normal mechanics, and couldn't actually decay (a suspension of a mechanic). These houses were afforded such luxuries because of their dedication to some sort of RP. Additionally, we can look at the participation of players in special events such as those talked about on the Bloodrock history page where special colored dragons were utilized (did not exist anywhere else in the game, and thus a different mechanic), or the existence of special items from various quests with different properties (again, a change to the mechanics).

These special quest mechanics and items that sometimes had properties that couldn't be obtained in any other fashion were all specially designed for a special RP event or environment. This is a major difference between suggesting that we allow any and all type of player to have some sort of access to special mechanics (e.g. CTF mechanics) or allowing any player to suspend the mechanics for whatever reason they want (e.g. preventing players from being attacked by other players when they are dueling), particularly when those mechanics effect the game on a much larger scale (removing risk vs reward).

i love how everyone ignored this response :X

[Malaikat]

Eat it LeLouche.

These special quest mechanics and items that sometimes had properties that couldn't be obtained in any other fashion were all specially designed for a special RP event or environment. This is a major difference between suggesting that we allow any and all type of player to have some sort of access to special mechanics (e.g. CTF mechanics)

So who got to own or request the mechanics/items, and how was their use regulated? Couldn't anyone interested become involved in the event or RP troupe? The fact that few people actually took advantage isn't to say that only few people were allowed. I'm guessing that anyone and everyone was, at the least, allowed to enjoy the presence or even use of the mechanics/items. Else why should they exist in the first place?

or allowing any player to suspend the mechanics for whatever reason they want (e.g. preventing players from being attacked by other players when they are dueling)

I don't see how a pvp event is any less an event than an RP related one. It's very sad that humans are naturally scumbags and so it's the minority who want to hold hands and talk about fictional adventures over a fictional goblet of ale. OSI was in the business of creating special incentives for niche players...because OSI was in business. There's no (good) reason for UOSA to pander (through rule bending) to a nonexistent RP base, but there is good reason to actually view events and special event mechanics fairly. Which is to say that we, as a collective, should treat pvp related events with the same logic that you (or OSI previously ) seem to be applying to RP events.

particularly when those mechanics effect the game on a much larger scale (removing risk vs reward).

Several people have been discussing (for some pages now) ways in which events could be hosted while either maintaining an element of risk or removing all reward.

[GoldMember]

Summary: If you disagree with bringing tournaments back or having any form of ranked PVP there's a good chance you suck at all forms of PVP and quite possibly real life.

The premise that forms of "ranked" PvP in a 15+ year old wizard's game could possibly equate to being a success in real life may be the most idiotic thing I have ever seen posted on these forums...and that is really saying something.

Ranked competitive game play being possibly linked to real life success is the most idiotic thing you have ever read on these forums? I must assume you are joking or this is the only post you have ever read.

In case your not joking or your google is broken...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaanders ... deo-games/

http://www.gamerinstitute.com/en/blog

http://www.teamparadigm.net/articles/bl ... eneficial/

[the bazookas]

Yes I was going to say essentially the same thing as Malakait: let's not discriminate--it's the 2010's ...

Though let's say we did have to put an RP twist on things just so it's Kosher... I can't see how, for example, the raid idea can't fit under that umbrella; even CTF can be couched in terms of some sort of RP event, you know.

There are some undisputable facts here:
1) Staff here is minimalistic so staff-run events are few and far between
2) Events had special mechanics on OSI
3) About a billion different potentially amazing events are out of player's reach because the system does not make it feasible (even simply large scale organized PvP simply does not exist outside of freak occurences)
4) UO is old. New content (in the form of an event) helps keep it fresh and fun.
5) Lelouche needs something to spend money on
6)

For now, I'd like to say that yes, the events are a mechanic of the shard and yes, there was not an equivalent on OSI in 1999; however, they didn't have the capability of doing anything nearly as complex as these events during that time. I'd also like to add that I really did enjoy developing the events and actually have a few more in queue that I've been meaning to get out there, but completely lack any time to work on them.

Again, I don't see the downside here of doing some new events (and it could even be infrequent--have the "CTF wagon" only appear once a week or even once per month where players can pay money to run a game) that involve some "new" mechanics specific to the event. And we're even couching it, like I've pointed out several times, in terms of a buy-in and/or bring your own gear (risk losing it if magic) scenario--vastly different from the former events that were so disgusting to certain people (even though most, I think, thought they were a ton of fun--including me).

[[Uhh] Eo]

I just want a 1v1 tournament once a week! Pleeeeeeaaaasee

[Kaivan]

These special quest mechanics and items that sometimes had properties that couldn't be obtained in any other fashion were all specially designed for a special RP event or environment. This is a major difference between suggesting that we allow any and all type of player to have some sort of access to special mechanics (e.g. CTF mechanics)

So who got to own or request the mechanics/items, and how was their use regulated? Couldn't anyone interested become involved in the event or RP troupe? The fact that few people actually took advantage isn't to say that only few people were allowed. I'm guessing that anyone and everyone was, at the least, allowed to enjoy the presence or even use of the mechanics/items. Lest why should they exist in the first place?

The existence of special quest items/mechanics on OSI servers was purely based on whether a GM or Senior GM would approve the existence of these special items or mechanics, and they were only approved for RP style cases. Now, while it is true that a player could join the orcs or visit the orc fort and interact with the surroundings and the orc players, none of the mechanics were contingent on forcing players to interact with the modified mechanics in a particular manner.

or allowing any player to suspend the mechanics for whatever reason they want (e.g. preventing players from being attacked by other players when they are dueling)

I don't see how a pvp event is any less an event than an RP related one. It's very sad that humans are naturally scumbags and so it's the minority who want to hold hands and talk about fictional adventures over a fictional goblet of ale. OSI was in the business of creating special incentives for niche players...because OSI was in business. There's no (good) reason for UOSA to pander (through rule bending) to a nonexistent RP base, but there is good reason to actually view events and special event mechanics fairly. Which is to say to treat pvp related events with the same logic that you seem to be applying to RP events.

OSI approved the creation of these types of things as a way of deepening the "game fiction", which is why they differentiated between RP and other playstyles. As for whether UOSA should pander to a small group or pander to the wishes of a larger group of players, we view it from the perspective of the types of restrictions it places on in-game interactions. The changes to mechanics that were afforded to RP groups on OSI servers and here were designed to promote deeper in-game interactions between players, whereas the suggestions put fourth for automated events do exactly the opposite of that, suspending the mechanics in a major way. It is for this exact reason we, and probably OSI, valued those types of interactions.

particularly when those mechanics effect the game on a much larger scale (removing risk vs reward).

Several people have been discussing (for some pages now) ways in which events could be hosted while either maintaining an element of risk or removing all reward.

There is still the significant reward of enjoying a particular playstyle without the concern for outside interference (the exact point of many of these events), unlike with the modifications seen for RP purposes that did not prevent player interactions that the RP players did not approve.

Yes I was going to say essentially the same thing as Malakait: let's not discriminate--it's the 2010's ...

Except that, as I stated before, the types of modifications of mechanics that players seek here aren't even in the same ballpark as the changes that were seen on OSI servers. Suggesting that we place an automatic tournament system in place, or an automatic raid system in place with kickbacks for those who start it isn't even close to the same thing as removing the spawn at an orc fort and allowing players to replace that exact spawn as an interactive RP based replacement.

Though let's say we did have to put an RP twist on things just so it's Kosher... I can't see how, for example, the raid idea can't fit under that umbrella; even CTF can be couched in terms of some sort of RP event, you know.

Except that the major complaint that players have with such an event is the fact that it can be interfered with. Stopping player interactions is absolutely not on the table for any such event, nor is any automatic system for rewarding a player on the table either.

There are some undisputable facts here:
1) Staff here is minimalistic so staff-run events are few and far between

This implies that GM assisted events were extremely common on OSI servers. They weren't.

2) Events had special mechanics on OSI

True, but they certainly didn't suspend the mechanics as they were run.

3) About a billion different potentially amazing events are out of player's reach because the system does not make it feasible (even simply large scale organized PvP simply does not exist outside of freak occurences)

Players on OSI servers had the same trouble with holding events, and the mechanics were rarely, if ever, modified (and never suspended) to help them. If they could manage, I'm sure that players here can manage as well.

4) UO is old. New content (in the form of an event) helps keep it fresh and fun.

The age of UO has nothing to do with it, particularly on a server designed to replicate the T2A era.

6)

For now, I'd like to say that yes, the events are a mechanic of the shard and yes, there was not an equivalent on OSI in 1999; however, they didn't have the capability of doing anything nearly as complex as these events during that time. I'd also like to add that I really did enjoy developing the events and actually have a few more in queue that I've been meaning to get out there, but completely lack any time to work on them.

This position has changed quite a lot since then. Derrick and I are both in agreement that automated events should not return.

Again, I don't see the downside here of doing some new events (and it could even be infrequent--have the "CTF wagon" only appear once a week or even once per month where players can pay money to run a game) that involve some "new" mechanics specific to the event. And we're even couching it, like I've pointed out several times, in terms of a buy-in and/or bring your own gear (risk losing it if magic) scenario--vastly different from the former events that were so disgusting to certain people (even though most, I think, thought they were a ton of fun--including me).

A GM assisted event is perfectly fine, in so much as some mechanics may be modified (i.e. add spawn, change spawn frequency, play an NPC character, etc), and even activate certain special mechanics for the event. However, no mechanics will be suspended, nor should anyone expect some sort of regular event schedule of any kind (again, not something that happened on OSI servers).

I just want a 1v1 tournament once a week! Pleeeeeeaaaasee

Not to single anyone out, but this is exactly what I'm talking about. There is no good reason why the mechanics should be suspended in favor of a particular group of players for their enjoyment at the expense of other players. There is no need for GM assistance when running this type of event.

[[Uhh] Eo]

I just want a 1v1 tournament once a week! Pleeeeeeaaaasee

Not to single anyone out, but this is exactly what I'm talking about. There is no good reason why the mechanics should be suspended in favor of a particular group of players for their enjoyment at the expense of other players. There is no need for GM assistance when running this type of event.

I want a 1v1 tournament to revel in the t2a mechanics, enjoy them, and demonstrate my skills with them. Rather than suspend mechanics, I think that actually highlights mechanics and causes people to enjoy the mechanics. It's more the 100% accuracy of results and 100% fairness of automated events that appeals rather than whether or not I can arrange to fight someone 1v1.

One event, once a week, awwww yeeeeee.

[Kaivan]

I just want a 1v1 tournament once a week! Pleeeeeeaaaasee

Not to single anyone out, but this is exactly what I'm talking about. There is no good reason why the mechanics should be suspended in favor of a particular group of players for their enjoyment at the expense of other players. There is no need for GM assistance when running this type of event.

I want a 1v1 tournament to revel in the t2a mechanics, enjoy them, and demonstrate my skills with them. Rather than suspend mechanics, I think that actually highlights mechanics and causes people to enjoy the mechanics. It's more the 100% accuracy of results and 100% fairness of automated events that appeals rather than whether or not I can arrange to fight someone 1v1.

One event, once a week, awwww yeeeeee.

Except that it does exactly that. You are free to enjoy, revel, and demonstrate your skills while accepting the same risk that all other players undertake. There is no reason that your playstyle should be afforded a suspension of the mechanics, particularly in a way that prevents others from interacting with you in a way that you don't approve.

[iamreallysquall]

if you guys spent half the amount of time that you do crying on the forums about automated events and put that effort into hosting an event you probably would be way more happy just saying.

[[Uhh] Eo]

I just want a 1v1 tournament once a week! Pleeeeeeaaaasee

Not to single anyone out, but this is exactly what I'm talking about. There is no good reason why the mechanics should be suspended in favor of a particular group of players for their enjoyment at the expense of other players. There is no need for GM assistance when running this type of event.

I want a 1v1 tournament to revel in the t2a mechanics, enjoy them, and demonstrate my skills with them. Rather than suspend mechanics, I think that actually highlights mechanics and causes people to enjoy the mechanics. It's more the 100% accuracy of results and 100% fairness of automated events that appeals rather than whether or not I can arrange to fight someone 1v1.

One event, once a week, awwww yeeeeee.

Except that it does exactly that. You are free to enjoy, revel, and demonstrate your skills while accepting the same risk that all other players undertake. There is no reason that your playstyle should be afforded a suspension of the mechanics, particularly in a way that prevents others from interacting with you in a way that you don't approve.

But anyone can sign up, so how is that preventing others?

In fact it promotes equality - people are given a chance to fight using t2a mechanics on an even playing field.

Lelouche, you can check player run events to see that me and my guild DO spend more time hosting our own events than talking about automated ones.

[Kaivan]

Except that it does exactly that. You are free to enjoy, revel, and demonstrate your skills while accepting the same risk that all other players undertake. There is no reason that your playstyle should be afforded a suspension of the mechanics, particularly in a way that prevents others from interacting with you in a way that you don't approve.

But anyone can sign up, so how is that preventing others?

In fact it promotes equality - people are given a chance to fight using t2a mechanics on an even playing field.

Lelouche, you can check player run events to see that me and my guild DO spend more time hosting our own events than talking about automated ones.

This is exactly what I'm talking about. Automated events such as this require that players interact with you in only one particular way, which is a suspension of all of the other mechanics.