Live events (CSM)
Stats
Raised by: Jade Constantine
Submission Date: 10-2008
Issue ID: 0103-01-0089
Summary
I’d like to propose quite simply that CCP fund and implement a new live events team that works as a combination of old (Aurora) and new (Mercury) and unites the best bits of actual in-game event running, player-involvement, dynamic plotlines with conflict and explosions, and the current excellent storytelling and news publication we are seeing around Empyrean age and related player actions.
In order to make sure it avoids the pitfalls of the past this new live events team will need to have its events properly audited – it will need to list the “props” and justify them – it’ll need to fill out a record of what happens at events and where the good stuff went of course. But that shouldn’t be considered a huge onerous burden so much as just “good practise” when running a vast interactive roleplaying game of the sort that Eve Online can truly be.
Now, sure, this is expensive in terms of manpower – CCP would need to spend money to make this happen, but then again – everything takes money. Development of the tiniest code alteration takes loads of it! Ultimately part of the role of the CSM was to advise CCP on what the players wanted to see from them – which priorities were most pressing, where people wanted to see the game going in the future. And I feel quite confident in saying at this point that a substantial number of players want the bold, exciting, non-conformist CCP that were prepared to take risks and do things that Sony and Blizzard would never dream of. This is a single server with a united history and the greatest community that any game of this kind is ever likely to get.
Fundamentally, Eve needs live in-game events that we’ll be talking about in 2012. To get these we need a live-events team and we need to CCP to stop panicking about corruption scandals and bad press and have the faith in the procedures they’ve established and actions they’ve taken and restore the functionality that Aurora once had in an improved form with the accountability and trust required to take events forward and keep Eve as the unique and exciting game it truly can be.
Pros
- Eve’s huge selling point is the single-server environment where players can become genuinely famous in the game world for their actions. Live Events allow players to become important agencies in deciding the course of plotlines and outcomes and help underline the essential promise of Eve Online.
- Live Events also feed from Eve’s other great strength – the beautifully-crafted background, environment and atmosphere. By making these things “come alive” – it’s possible to keep the game fresh and trading on its core advantages.
- Live Events become shared memories and word of mouth selling points for the game. “This brilliant storyline I played a part in!” becomes more sales and more income for CCP. Its impossible to overestimate just how significant good positive peer reviews and advise can have in this manner.
- In many ways it’s a manpower / time / planning issue rather than complicated code issue. It’s not going to kill the servers or give the GUI devs headaches. The event tools are there – its just a matter of CCP regaining the confidence to recruit volunteers and push live player-interactive plotlines again.
Cons
- Takes time and personnel and money. This is true. To do live-events properly takes an investment in people and training and proper book-keeping from the inside. It will involve etc work for Internal Affairs to keep track of this stuff.
- Some parts of the community will always moan about Live Events “not being fair” or “blowing them up” or “not dropping good enough loot.” This can however be mitigated with clear guidelines and documentation and ensuring that the Events team provide transparency on their actions internally.
- There are concerns about Live Events being mobbed by “thousands of x,y,z alliance players” etc etc. These concerns are mitigated by ensuring that Event’s are more than simple “faction loot drops” and that the actions and choices of players interacting with these events can have significant consequences (good and bad).
Conclusion
This is an Issue where CCP can gain major value out of returning a much loved Live Events system to Eve Online. It will take investment in time and personal and funding, and it will take effort in properly establishing internal transparency for live event management but its something I and many other players believe is absolutely necessary for Eve to remain the singular impressive mmorpg experience it has been in the past.
In a time where World of Warcraft and Warhammer Online are running Live Events that make Eve players look on in envy we know something is wrong and its time to send a strong message that its high time to put things right.
Live Events Discussion
Live Events in Other Games
- UO (old days): staff appearances in game as fictional characters
- Now: Event moderators
- Guild wars: Weekly automated event, holiday events, staff appearances in game
- WoW: Holiday events, new content introduced through event
Types of events:
Story driven events
- Outcome can affect storyline
- Set storyline that plays out in game, players either as audience or something interactive with set outcome
Competition type events, reward best players
- PVP tournaments
- get most kills/cap plexes/kill rats/do missions etc in time frame
- Treasure map, find clues, solve puzzles, locate something
Automated events that require little interference (temp bonus to X)
Dev appearances -> Probably better to wait for ambulation so it wont affect the game
NPC events
- temporary agents appearing, offer special mission or ask for specific goods, dynamic, unpredictable
- Convoys that can be attacked by players
- Luminaire titan stuff
Relevant Forum Threads
Votes
- Ankhesentapemkah - Yes
- Bane Glorious - Yes
- Darius Johnson - Not Available
- Dierdra Vaal - Yes
- Hardin - Not Available
- Inanna Zuni - Yes
- Jade Constantine - Yes
- LaVista Vista - Yes
- Serenity Steele - Not Available
- Arithron - Yes
- Omber Zombie - Yes