PEC program cancelled
Please take a few minutes of your time and send off an email to Mesanna (Bonnie) to show support of this PEC program
The PEC program supported the players and the players support the game and the PEC/EM program
I have an event scheduled on Sunday 10/27 @8pm est and someone has already come an chopped all the benches I had out for this event. Without the help of a game master there will be no end to issues that players events will encompass in the future
Bonnie@Broadsword.com
Please take a couple mins and send off a short note in support of the PEC program
Thanks
Queen Arya
Atlantic Shard
Toad Town
Comments
Player Events have ALWAYS been a big part of UO - from the many battles and wars fought by rival guilds and factions to the many Rare Fests hosted on the shards and all sorts of things in between. I had organized many events myself - bar brawls, chicken fights, story nights, craft fairs, shard-wide events coordinated with guilds, small and intimate parties, weddings, even community house-building (where we donated the house to a new player). All these, and more... where I wished I could get help from those who actually make the game. I did this in Felucca (pre T2A) on Atlantic, and even on Napa, pre -Trammel. Granted, an interested Seer or Counselor might help announce the event via a system message to the masses on the shard - but for the most part, I was on my own. I had to announce and market these events, find creative ways to deal with wandering Reds, furniture choppers, random naked streakers, thieves, and just all around disruptors. What really helped me was the growing popularity of my events, and the guilds that were involved - - - but those days are gone now...
In today's UO, we need Broadsword's help to put forth an organized event. There are just too many griefers out and about for any sort of event outside of a player's own residence. Official support helps to attract the players. It shows that there is, indeed, a two-way conduit between the Player and the Game's Keepers to some degree. Sometimes, a Player's event idea becomes a staple (Rares Fests come to mind) and wouldn't be feasible without the help of BS employees (be they PEC, EM, Dev, or even you Bonnie).
I understand Budget is a concern... but doesn't cutting off this service add to the already bleeding loss of revenue that is happening? It may not be felt now, or even for the next few months - but this ONE aspect of the UO is at the core of what helps make this one of (if not THE ONLY) enjoyable sandbox game out there. Player Events help to bind each shard's community - Players have low resources and no management tools to operate their events without them being disrupted, or even ruined, by those who make a point of griefing.
What other solutions could be found with the PEC role being eliminated?
There needs to be something Bonnie.... this is the core of what makes it all so special in UO.
@Mesanna
kirthag.blogspot.com
We have to remember special powers opens for abuse also.
I am also a Europa player.
I also didn't know what a PEC was. Rather than make myself look stupid, I waited for Sable and my friend Psycho to post and explain it to me.
Really all the game needs, as Psycho says, is players to get off their arses and do stuff. Then stuff happens.
Because you did not know what a player event coordinator was, speaks volumes.
I come from a very active shard and on most evenings there is standing room only at Luna bank, its stable or gate. Our General chat could drive most players insane- but I love it. it tells me to keep plugging in there with events and helping or holding Rares festivals (prolly do not know what that is either-heh)
I agree if players held more events it would keep things active. When you have a couple bad apples moving all your props, it gets frustrating.
It can take several months of planning, farming & spamming for that one fallen log you need, or item your missing, then have some one come along and pick everything up you and your guild mates worked so hard to put together.
During a rares festival we have an entire week of events players put on.
All im asking for is to keep in place what we had, advertise about it more and I will keep helping the players from my little corner of Toad Town
At my event tonight there will be an empty chair where the PEC was supposed to be sitting during his introduction. I invite @Mesanna and the Dev's to come sit there.
CYA all tonight
Queen Arya
Atlantic shard
Toad Town
Yes, you're right.
Speaking from experience, yes - Players really should be able to put on their own events - I agree with this 100%. It is feasible - and I've done wonderful things running events without the PEC. However, the help from the game's producers (announcement on the PEC page, barks from the in-game NPC Herald, temp gates, griefer control, supplying specialty MOBs) really adds a bit of authority to any Player event, making it more enjoyable for those who participate. Now, maybe some of these events are exclusive to a guild or select group of individuals - but the services of the PEC helped to enrich the game for these people. Not /every/ event is a public one, but it is the public events that really do succeed with PEC assistance.
TL/DR
My opus was organizing and managing a shard wide fair on Napa... not once, but twice (first was Spring, the second was Fall). I coordinated with multiple guilds who put on mini-events at scheduled times. I gathered runes to these mini-event locations, having multiple sets in a book at each location (well, there were 3 books actually at each location - that's how much participation there was). Guild leaders organized their people and communicated with me for their needs - most of the time it was prizes and that meant gold.
That first fair had a maze house, dungeon run, crafting challenge, fighting pits, story contests, pack-deco challenge, thieving contest, naked dungeon battles, taming contest, a play, song contest - just to name a few. Door prizes, gold, crafted mementos... all this supplied by donors, participating guilds, and myself.
I built and updated a website, had tables on it showing dates and times for each happening - updated those tables as needed (constantly). I spewed on every forum I was registered on to drum up interest. People created new toons on Napa just to attend. My large tower was the hub of all activity over each fair period. My ICQ was never more active.
It was glorious!
On the flip side....
I was so burned out over these events - and NOTHING else could be done... I ordered so much pizza, Dominoes new my order before I called! I didn't have a real guild at that time, just I and a couple of friends got this going - but I did most of the management.
I did an analysis after the Spring event and realized almost all of the issues we experienced couldn't be avoided without developer help.
1. Constant griefers at every scheduled event. From spamming over text to PKing attendees.
--- We countered this by asking the M^F and their Bear Clan to run guard duty - but as the days went on, it got harder and harder to do. We couldn't expect players to be there 24/7 over several days - just doesn't happen.
2. Helping new toons get around the world. Most people who came from other shards (prior to shard xfer) had barely any skill to participate - so training them and providing gates meant some other people just couldn't participate while providing those services and the materials necessary.
--- Having gates provided by a PEC would have made things soooo much better for people attending!
3. System messages. Without the bark of an NPC or a General Chat, people would forget when such and such would begin. There was a whole lot of running around to each city's bank making announcements.
--- Pre-Luna, the WBB was the bank to sit at. But a player had to stand there and bark announcements... which is not that much fun all told. And that player most times had to have the ability to make gates. I never made so many gate scrolls in my life as I did during these events!
4. Gank-squads in the dungeons. Granted, we expected some level of PKing to happen, and warned participants about this. Still, Rez-killing players 30+ times, or killing every single healer within 5 screens of a dungeon entrance, makes for a non-fun dungeon crawl.
---- The second fair, we had a "red killing contest" - which I didn't like doing for this actually spurred a whole lot of bad blood for a long time, but we decided to fight fire with fire and if the PKers wanted to be involved, well, they got to be. Honestly, it was a bit of fun /during/ that part... but the aftermath I could've lived without.
When people asked if I was going to continue with the Spring/Fall fair tradition in the following years, I opted out. The Spring fair was 4 days, the Fall fair 3 days. I just couldn't do it - emotionally, financially (I used vacation days to do these events - 1 week each time, and that entire week I was in UO prepping, setting up, and running the fairs), and physically. My back still spasms from the thought of sitting in my chair for all those hours. The Napa Valley Faires never happened again.
And I wondered why no one else would pick up the ball. Guilds much larger than my meager helper-squad could have easily have done this. Even loose groups of friends would have been able to take up the reins. But no one did. And why? Because they want to play UO and not work UO. I had hoped the fair would inspire the participating guilds to host more public happenings - and they did, for a wee bit. It got so the same people were organizing things, and they started to feel the burnout. They lost the fun part, finding (just as I did), that they were /expected/ to do /something/ every weekend.....
We also play UO.. and we still want to enjoy the game.
That is what putting on an event is in UO. A bit of enjoyment, but really a whole lot of work. And I enjoyed doing it, for the words... "The Event Is The Reward" is really what it is about for me, and I believe a whole lot of others who organize, put out their own resources, dedicate the time, and work to put on a good event for others on their shard. I think we all subscribe to that philosophy.
The PEC (and any volunteering from the devs) just made the events so much easier to organize. It also gave an air of officiality to the entire thing. I attended many PEC events on multiple shards, enjoying the creativity of the Players augmented by the tools and abilities of the PEC (or EM).
I plan on doing events again on Pacific... but I've been procrastinating a whole lot. Why? I look back over all the effort I've put in over on Napa, and it kinda makes me cringe a little on the inside wondering if it will just be another see-saw of enjoyment and frustration. What is so ironic, I was drafting up my PEC request submission just as the announcement came out. Checked my email, and read the newsletter...
Le sigh.
kirthag.blogspot.com