Good points and bad points

Capt Tom Crowson · Good points and bad points

After the game we were asked for good points and bad points about the game, so that the refs get an idea about what worked and also where they can make improvements for the future

Certainly at the time I was pretty stumped for things to say, so now I've had a chance to ponder, I thought I'd start the thread off about what worked for me and what didn't

What worked (for me)

1) The kit / props - There seemed to just be limitless stocks of costume changes which made such a difference, but they were all very distincitve and at no point did I ever query who was playing what.
The props made a difference as well because it was "real". If you want all that salvage then you're carrying that b*stard heavy crate through the woods

2) The shuttle - A very nice touch

3) The Cortexers tent - Thought that was really impressive and added the high tech element to what appeared to be a fairly low-tech camp

4) The efforts that everyone went to on their own kit and tents/ Im not going to ask how much Tiny's kit costs

5) Little bits of personal plot which popped up, such as the "pony" that was floating around

6) The fact that when I said "I'd like to poison the Blue Sun Reps" that I was allowed to, even though that would goof with the plot that was prepared. Was nice to know that I wasn't restricted in my actions

7) Refs were very friendly, very accessible and always ready to listen. They were never "too busy" to respond to a query, and there was never much trouble in finding one

8 ) Watching the Companions Armsman practicing his martial arts on the field as the sun was setting. Looked cool

9) The contract auction. Meant that we knew we had work and an income for the next downtime so were less worried about running out of fuel (and we did do rather well out of it)

What didn't work (for me)

1) The main plot got lost on me - I dont know whether it was just me but I got really, really lost with the main plot. Found out on the Saturday evening what about the whole "super-troops" story, but think that was OOC. I got snippets of info, but not enough to actually piece it all together. I eventually got lost so stuck to just making a few deals and grabbing some salvage.
Might be useful to have the NPC's circulating more of the information that has already been released to them to help keep the interest levels going.

2) There were some points where things seemed to dry up completely. A weekend is a long time so it pretty hard to keep everyone occupied all of the time, but certainly on Sunday afternoon it did seem to be a lot of sitting around whilst everyone sat waiting for the big gun-fight.
Think perhaps Sunday should've wound up a couple of hours earlier, so that people have more time to meet / chat OOC for the post event wind-down / analysis

3) I think the game as its stands is quite "cliquey" which is in inevitable trait of this sort of game. People stick with their own crew, or ones where they feel that they can trust. Its reasonably difficult for a new crew to get involved with other things that are going on, and I'd imagine that its the sort of event that unless you're really confident that you don't want to go as a single player.
Don't know whether its possible to set up some kind of "mercenaries market" for the next one so that people who aren't with a crew can perhaps get themselves or write something into plot backgrounds / downtimes that they have to do something with any new crew / player.

4) Mechanics didn't seem to have much to do. Don't know whether it was just that one game, or whether they come into their own in downtime but they didn't seem to be able to use their skills at all on this one

5) The Web-site could do with development / completion as thats the first thing that people will see and (after word of mouth) is probably the main selling tool

Erm....

Shikoba

On the cliques comment, as a fellow player I believe that is down to the individual players to make the effort but I'm a bit surprised that this is thought as I've never found the game to be so, in fact quite the opposite. There is such a strong sense of comadrie between the crews that it really adds to the firefly atmosphere. Ok we don't always butt into each others deals or personal life but there are some very strong connections there, even the Relentless crew who couldn't make this game were still there in spirit and got more than a few mentions. (which they are delighted about so thank you for that folks)

I really hope the Jien Hou crew are not thought of as cliequey we are all about the social. we speak to people and we make them welcome it is then up to the other players to choose to accept or reject the offer of friendship and if it is rejected that is respected.

I know I certainly spoke to everyone, we ran poker games which involved anyone who wanted to join in, discussed trade and we also opened our fire up and made everyone so welcome that when other players dropped out of character during the 24 hour time in game on the Friday night and remained OOC despite my asking them to go back into character we were unable to return to our camp if we wanted to role play, being amicable folks we just went else where and left them their having fun.
Anyone who walked past was invited to join us and more than a few lonsome folks sat with us for breakfast. In fact I think on saturday night, after I was patched up, practically everyone at some point came and joined us which was the highlight of my game.

I know most of the new crews managed to get involved to the degree they wanted to and if they wanted to get more involved well they need only join in. Certainly the cortexers managed well enough and they're brand new to the game. It is trickier if you play a single memeber of a crew that is absent but it is still possible if you're willing to make IC friendships and connections and as I said we aint fussy, we like everyone and every one is welcome.

I wonder if it's just the lines betweent he crews are ni fact a bit blurry?

So as a heads up to any lonely chaarcters out there...we'll be your friend
Razz

I love the idea of the mercanaries auction.

PS Super troop? Well that missed me entirely.
PPS Technically as it is a 24 hour fully time in game you should be unable to pick up OOC information between Fridays time in and Sunday time out. technically
Razz

Capt Tom Crowson

I dont mean cliquey in the sense that everyone is pitched against each other. Nor in the sense that people weren't welcoming of each other

Theres definitely a lot more "socialising" that there is in other games, and it was very noticeable in things like whenever anyone went down there were immediately half a dozen medics from other crews on the scene straightaway with never a mention of "You've got to pay me 3 Credits before I'll fix you up".
I certainly found it very easy to talk to the other crews, and people were very friendly

Certainly with our crew (The Darklight) we had a harder time due to our self-chosen "profession".
I remember speaking to Ryan who was asking "So what's your thing? Whats your stick?". And all I could respond was "We go where the parties are".
So no-one really had much need to come to us. The Cortexer crew were invaluable if you needed Cortexer stuff, just like the GunSharks are the first port of call if you need lots of guys with guns.

I think I noticed the "clique" side more with things like the salvage runs. Captains went off on their own with their own crew, and anyone who didn't already have a ship or were part of a crew may not have had the opportunity to join in. I as a Captain was thinking "I need to make as much money as possible so that I can fuel my ship and pay my crew" so I didn't really want to split that with outsiders

The mercenary auction idea really is more that "There are 4 men here looking for work. Mr X is a Cortexer and will offer his services for the weekend to the highest bidder". Gives the people who aren't quite brave enough to approach other people someone to start roleplaying with.
Whilst in the end it is the players own responsibility to make the effort to introduce themselve to people and get to know people, it can be pretty daunting sometimes

I got the rest of the plot on the Saturday night round the Jien Hou campfire, so technically it could've been IC but I took it as OOC. Have to say actually that was one of my highlights, with the bottles of whisky (and various other unmentionable substances going round. I felt involved OOC as well as IC.

Chad

I agree with all your good points - plus a whole host of other points about which we waxed lyrical in the feedback session.

I find myself disagreeing fairly conclusively with the plot point.
Now this is a personal standpoint obviously but i really get on with the way it was run.

The info was there but you did need to dig about, form theories and go with the 'gut feel'.
I kinda worked out (and may of course be totally off the mark here!) the following:

Blue Sun did some naughty things a long time ago and it reared its (ugly?) head at about the same time that the Companions/Monks are making their bid for control of Eden.

They needed to get in there and bury/remove, etc what they previously did. To do so they needed to scupper the Companion/Monk application to Ariel and get those pesky players outta the way. Hence the poisoning and (probably) the supply of arms to the Tong.

Thats a very abridged version but basically I saw the players needing to help the Monks out in their Bid (and hell, i still didn't trust those robe wearing alcoholics!).

I'd really like however that the plot was not handed out freely. Many of the NPC's were Blue Sun and were basically trying to feed us misinformation where possible. This was a really intrigue packed event but you really needed to dig at the info provided to find the cracks and bad fits. The range of required skills to get at the hidden info was also great to see. Cortex hacks, medical testing, NPC interrogation, plain ol' guns in faces - it all contributed to a feed of info that (for me at least) built up the picture of what was happening.

Right up until the Sunday afternoon when a lot of pieces fell into place, the players used media attention, nasty Cortex hacks, to slap the Blue Sun PR machine a good un and they got the hell outta Dodge. Some devious son of a proverbial even poisoned the Blue Sun 'slimeball' and put an end to his machinations Razz

What was hugely satisfying was the effect players had on the system. A player does something effective and the game team response was immediate. Many of the LRP experiences i've had are leagues off that kind of response, or (even worse) they crowbar their plot in another way.
When push came to shove and the Blue Sun Cruiser was dropping out of orbit after the player sent the Cortex equivalent of a nuke up their backside, the gameteam worked a pretty good finish to things.

I'm fairly sure they didn't expect those turns of plot!

So, despite rambling somewhat i have to say that the whole plotside gets a big thumbs up from me.

The clique thing is probably an impression as opposed to reality. Last event and this, i found that pulling up a bench/stool, sticking your beer on the table and asking what people know always elicts a great response.
Approaching groups can be daunting but i feel the Serenity events have been stongly characterised by people who really want to get the most out of the events. That is to say, the player base has a lot of RP integrity and i think they are all just itching to engage with others.

I think i'll stop raving there but hell, come to the next event and poke Tiny until he cries. Its what we do when we're bored Very Happy

Capt Tom Crowson

See, I didnt get the plot though that was probably was more to do with me.
I had lots of peices ie knew about the military base, knew that the BS and Tong were working together, knew that there were Blue Sun stem cells etc, but somehow didn't manage to piece it together.

There was loads of plot there, but I guess I just didn't actually put two and two together. I figured that I was just seeing one or two bits from seperate plots rather than realising that they were all part of the same thing

Would agree that the plot flexibility was probably one of the strongest points. Stopping a battlecruiser by uploading porn. Preventing the legal contest by the BS by giving them dodgy water etc.
I did try and negotiate with the Three Serpent Tong into assisting the Abbey and Companions, in return for exclusive criminal rights on the moon should they succeed, but that didnt come to anything.
Overall it really did feel as though we had control over the event rather then us being railroaded.

Was still an incredibly enjoyable event, so I'll definitely be back for the next one. Not sure about poking Tiny tho. Not sure he'd feel it through the armour anyway Smile

Shikoba

It's also worth baring in mind that Serenity is a pesonal plot game as well. There maybe the over all campaign and local plots but there is a big emphasis on player led plot lines which I love. I dislike th kind of game where the plot is forced down players throats and they are eld like sheep from a to b to c.

As to the cliquiness, well what you describe regarding the medics and socialisation is the opposite of clique, as various groups will work together on certain aspects I suspect you are also unaware of persons connections and deal that were made or the reasons behind their actions. after all there is no way one play can know all of anothers character motives.

It's only right that crews will go of to do their own crew work, they are a crew they have a job to do so they will work together but very often there is a cooperation there and I know we took some extra bods along on some of our jobs. however when it comes to business assuming people will just help each other out is not exactly right. The gunsharks are our friends, we still pay them Gracie has a ship to run as well.

I'm afraid your character response of "we go where the party is" actually acts as a "mind your own business." I know I am most likly to reply "Oh that's nice" and think of no way to offer further assistance or network. It does sound as though you've taken a bit of a "talk to the hand" attitude and players have been responding in like.

in my opinion Serenity is one of the least cliquey games out there which is why I love it, but it does require a certain amount of out of character effort to get involved as very little is spoon fed. it may be worth having a rethink on your own game approach and seeing what could be done there to improve your enjoyment rather than taking the over all stance of the other crews and the refs leaving you out.

all that aside, if you want to make contacts talk to shikoba.

Razz

Bar

The plot was very much there, but also went on regardless whether people were there or not to see it or intereact with it, it was purely by chance that the man in the silly shirt above and me intercepted a number of transmissions which led to some very tense times out in the middle of the woods at around 3 o'clock in the morning whilst men in full radiation suits went about their business.

As a mechanic personally I built 2 seperate cortex rigs (both of which in plain site of everyone with flashing LED's and a bright yellow umbrella/reciever dish) a laser relay to an orbital satelite and a water pump to redirect the poisoned waterflow away from teh settlements. I think there was plenty for mechanics to do! certainly it wasn't a case of finding somethign in the woods that needed fixing to make it work (although that did happen) but at other times it was a case building what I needed out of spare parts, in fact doing this was how we ended up out in the woods at bastard o'clock Wink

I thought the event was great, yes there is a certain cliqueyness at the system, but I don't nessecarily see that as a bad thing. The very nature of the system and setting splits people apart into small groups of crews and you're right why would a captain take strangers over they're trusted crews out on a mission? And i've got to agree with Heather that being told your an international playboy and "go where the party is" is pretty much a "mind your own business" and so I did.

I thought the standard of roleplay was excellent all weekend and it amused me how reluctant people were to say anything about themselves as opposed to the usual at events where people fall over themselves to tell you how their parents were killed by orcs and that they're the last of their kind.

I really enjoyed interacting with everyone, really enjoyed how offended people got when you insult their ship (especially Capt. Booth you caertianly kept your word and never spoke to me again Very Happy

) and just the general feel and look of everyoens costume.

I couldn't make the first one due to injuring my back and I had the rest of the Gunsharks telling me how awesome it was for a whole year! By the end I was convinced that it couldn't possibly live up to their hype but it really did.

Cannot wait for the next one.

*edited to make sense, well more sense*

Tiahne

I think it can be cliquey. I don't think it was especially so, and indeed some people went out of their way to be approachable to everyone which was great. The set up of the ships, (while it is so very Firefly), can encourage cliques - or at least the appearance of them, IMHO. I gotta make clear I'm *not* pointing any fingers and I don't think this game suffered from it in a really bad way. I've personally not played in a lot of large LARPs so I don't know if this is a common complaint - I would have thought that friendship groups would naturally congregate together anyway so perhaps having the ships is just a structure to hang it on?

It can be intimidating walking up to a bunch of folks you don't know, and starting a conversation. And maintaining a conversation so you can get yourself involved with stuff as opposed to then just staying on nodding terms with them. That's down to the nature of people I guess, and some folks will just naturally be more outgoing & charismatic. So yes, the answer is to go out and make friends, but it's easier for some people than others.

In a roleplay situation you've also got the complication that your character's more likely to want to speak to some people than others - who needs a playboy when you're looking for a pilot - and it can be hard to tell what's IC/OOC when you don't know people. And as Heather's said, there's IC reasons for a character or a group feeling antisocial which you don't necessarily know about. There were some people who had no need to speak to me at all, and I don't begrudge them that - it wasn't like anyone went out of their way *not* to speak to me (that I noticed!).

I probably wouldn't have got to know any of the Gunsharks, for example, had I not been one of the medics left in camp when a couple of them came back injured, so that was a fortuitous IC occurrence that meant as a player I had a chance to meet new people and in character make some new friends (though I guess Vaughn & Bar might not look at it the same way...) Wink

And I personally got along fine with the crew of the Darklight, who didn't seem to me to have any big motivations - which from my character's point of view, with similarly non-lofty designs, made them more approachable. Smile

I had a great weekend, loved the game, and, I hope, haven't caused anyone offence here which'll cause any problems to me playing in the next one!

Oh and I missed the plot too. Well, I did some of it but failed to make the right connections most of the time. Smile

It was great fun though. Smile

Kali

James

First off I thought the levels of props/costume as said were great. As Simon said above for example the idea of finding some salvage and for it to be fully phys repped to such a degree really made it. The shuttle was a lovely touch too.

The levels of role play from NPCs and players was also great. As a medic I did enjoy the effort some patients put into role playing wounds/treatment, and I think (hope) that was rewarded by the effort put in by the medics in return. I know I did love watching the gun sharks surgeon applying makeup to people as part of the treatment, added loads to the effect.

Think it was slightly difficult to pick up all the plot points but they were there.

As for the cliqueness, I don't think anyone was anti-social at all (least not OOC). Indeed I mixed, chatted and drank with many of the other people around. Think it's more that IC many of the activities ended up being a crew doing it on their own thing/little linears. That said if that's the design of the game then so be it. People did generally pull together when the whole camp got attacked etc, and I know as a medic I was forever treating other crew people - including one silly gunshark with little regard for his own treatment!

Think the reason we may have hit that impression though is that we've handicapped ourselves in that our general responses to most situations are 1) Does it concern us? (and not much does!), 2) Are we getting paid for it? 3) Is it dangerous? That's our own fault and perhaps something we'll revise a little in the interests of getting more stuck in.

One other plus point I must say is how well run it was. As said, it was never that hard to find a ref (though pity there werent any around to witness the hour long surgery on Sat night!). I like that, as opposed to many systems, the refs seem more interested in the role play element and not sticking rigidly to the rules or their plot. I know I amused the refs (or one of them certainly!) with a couple of interesting acts and calls and I've never before had a breathaliser used in a ref judgement! But it was particularly nice to see that we were given such free control over events and plot.

Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

James
Lucas Griffin of the Darklight (Phd...kinda...)

Bar

James

The others I saw tested also got the middle response (which I think played to my patient's favour! Very Happy

)

Still, long gone are the days of the D20 it seems!

Prince

Having just finished an IC summary of the event from Prince's POV, I was surprised by how very personalised it was as an account. More so than any other LRP event I've attended. My event was very different from even other Gunsharks' experiences of the event.

So I'm not surprised that some saw it as very cliquey/plot obscure and others as the opposite - looks like there's an immense range for individual interpretation of the event built into its very nature.

Personal 'Like' = I like it that being operated upon and recuperating are as much fun as going out and getting shot in the first place. I like it that surgery looks FUN and is SCARY... that your character's life is directly dependent on this fellow character with your guts in their hands and their skill/luck determining your fate. Get in.

Shikoba

As the person freezing on that table for the nigh on hour long surgery I have to say it as fun and bloody scarey i had no choice but to go with the role play fun and hope for the best, the relief that it worked out was quite genuine as I was really begining to think of other character concepts. I'd have had it no other way as it was a perfect role play setup and added immensly to my characters experiance. thank you to all those kind souls who stuck it out with me.

as to cliquines well on the three excursions I went out on , finding the priest, checking the water pump and the night mission there were members from at least three other crews with me if a lot more. However I would in no way expect the crews all to work together when it comes to their lively hood.

that aside it has become obvious that i just need to work harder to be friendlier to more people and create a more social atmosphere as I really do feel I failed in that particular part of my mission. God knows what i need to do to put that right.

so with that in mind as a player what can I do to increase the socialbility of the game?

Shikoba

Jon

I must admit I missed that one. I sincerly hope that 'unmentionable' substances refers to the 'pony' or some rather vicious cocktail someone concocted.

In running any events organisers put an immense amount of trust in the people who attend, when people request illegal substances are not consumed on site it isn't just covering legal requirements.
If I'm responsible for any event discovered to have any illegal substances doing the rounds I will probably be removed from my course and lose any hope of future employment in education. No questions asked.

Tiahne

Uh - sorry for sticking my oar in (again) - but all I took from Captain Tom's comment about "unmentionable substances" was that there were some pretty nasty alcoholic beverages being handed round. I was there, I saw nothing illegal. I'd vouch for that in court if it were needed.

K

Capt Tom Crowson

I wasnt referring at all to illegal substances and didn't say that there were illegal substances going round. I was in fact referring to the rice wine and the "raki". Not entirely sure what they were (hence inimaginable) but I certainly wasnt implying at all that there was anything illegal going on, because there wasnt. Apologies for any confusion there

Where I say I felt involved OOC as well as IC, I meant that I felt really appreciative of being invited to join to campfire. I could've been told to clear off but I wasnt. Whilst Captain Tom was being invited to sit and join in the fun for which he was grateful, I (Simon) also felt included within the group for which I (Simon) felt grateful. Thats not the same as saying that I thought the campfire bit was OOC. So again apologies for any confusion

The reason I thought that the plot info I was given was OOC was that it seemed to be the entire plot of the weekend, which was given to me by an NPC. I was acting IC for entire of the weekend, including round the fire, so assumed that when I was told the entire plotline in one go that it was a "Here's what really happened".
There was the odd OOC comment made, but for the most part all the interaction was IC. However I was not going to assume (and use) IC information if Im not 100% sure whether it was IC or not.
Im not at all saying that people were roleplaying badly, and that it had all gone OOC cos it hadn't, and I knew that at the time. It was just one point where I was told everything that had gone on by an NPC, and I wasn't entirely sure

Anyway moving on from that...

The cliqueiness. We made the decision that we wouldnt have a "thing". There wasn't any particular purpose to the Darklight Crew. They don't "do" anything, and hence I didn't expect to have people coming to us and asking for help. Im fine with the concept that we came up with, and just being sociable characters. We werent there to make big deals, or secure the safety of the camp, so Iwouldn't expect that people would have business to conduct with us. The crew concept wasn't about doing business, it was about being there for the party, meeting a few people and maybe making a fast buck along the way

Perhaps clique isn't the right word to use, due to the negative connotations it already has, certainly in regard to LRP. Im not suggesting at all that the "group solidarity" was due in any way to people being OOC unsociable because it wasn't. Everyone I met was very welcoming and very friendly. Im not making a complaint at all.

My concern would be more that people who aren't there with a group may find it difficult to get themselves involved with a group, in the fact that many friendships and alliances are already formed due to the fact that most people are already in their groups, and that perhaps the organisers might be able to make some provision for those people who aren't entirely comfortable with approaching a big group of people they don't know and ask if they can come with them on "their" linear.

I did start off this thread with what worked and didn't work FOR ME. I didn't get the plot. Not saying in anyway that the plot wasn't there or logical, just that I didn't get it.
I found that the set up cold be quite hard for some people to get involved, hence suggesting the Mercenaries auction. I didnt say "People werent friendly", because they were.

Hopefully all that made sense, and apologies to anyone who though that I was making either
a) any slanderous accusations
b) an unfounded criticism or accusation.

Shikoba

Thanks for clafiying that Simon.
I raised the subject as a couple of other players were concerend by it as they, like me and few others could loose their jobs if there were drugs on site. Hence the big no illegal substances policy. and damn some of the booze was rough, remember Raki has to be drunk with water and cooking rice wine is not meant to be drunk at all.

It is possible the NPC got a little carried away but if it is time in, in a time in area then it's best to take it at face value, I'm not sure there is any other choice as if we start second guessing all the info we get from NPC we triple the refs work load.
Hey, go you, you got the character drunk enough to spill the beans.

I did have issues with some players dropping very badly out of character on Friday night and I ended up just leaving the area to go and role play somewhere else which actually worked really well for me. I met up with Oz and Ryan as a result and I am not should I would have otherwise.

Both Captain Tom and Simon were and are very welcome around our fire.

Razz

I like the term "group solidarity"

Personally I love the way the crews work, we're all pretty social until it comes to business and then we are still very social but have to remember that we need to eat and keep the ship flying.
There is a really good sense of commadrie between the ships including, friendly rivarly, intership romances as well as strong friendships which I love.

As I said before, if you want to make friends, make tea.

ps I hope Captain Tom did enjoyed the "I aint dead" party.

Shikoba "non of my blood is mine" Cheng

Razz

Tobias Rieper

Ok, time for my two penn'th:

pretty much everything was shiny - i really enjoyed it, though at times, i admit i was a little overwhelmed, being my first event an' all. The props, camp etc were great, refs were great, and the 24h IC was great. Let me clarify that - i'm normally used to scenario based paintball events, never done a LRP before. This was a refreshing change, with no trooping off field every 45mins to re-arm & Gas up, which really cramps continuity, it was much more smooth running, not to mention far less expensive. (although the level of pain involved is similar - my fault for diving into a patch of nettles during thee sat night shootout) i'll deffinately be at the next one.

I agree with Tom on the point that it's tough being a single player - as i was at this event - unless you fall in with another crew (thanks Shikoba!) you will feel a little isolated. Not sure how you could remedy this in-game however, although the "mercenaries market"/job centre idea is a possibility.

The plot really went over my head on this one - mainly because i didnt give it my full attention, being more concerned with other things (ie, geting to grips with the system, getting a ship, being lumbered with a crew of hillbillies, trying to work out which of my close associates i can blackmail into coming to the next event, getting shot to pieces, etc.
However, i don't feel that this was necessarily a bad thing - it just reflects a real life situation, and that i/my character had other priorities. Next time,
hopefully with a freshly press-ganged PC crew, it will be a different story.

The 3 major failures from my perspective - that is, things i would do differently, given half a chance, are:

1/get a lift down to site, instead of the train, so i could bring more kit with me (hopefully i will be able to do this next time)

2/ send a wave to my character's family members, to either get a handle on the situation much sooner or, blood being thicker than water, get the access codes to disable the ship in orbit/get the fighters recalled.

3/ offer the Blue sun cruiser a tow - when i realized that i could have done this (on the train home) i was somewhat annoyed that i hadnt thought of it sooner.
As soon as the tow lines were on, assuming the ship made it safely to port, i could have charged salvage/assistance fees (in real life, it is 10% the vessels value, and up to 25% the value of ay cargo carried).
so i am a little disappointed in myself over that one.

2 more things that spring to mind:

The website - could do with some....development (pictures, info, etc to attract new players & be of use to existing players.)

Pilot briefing/information or lack thereof - might be interesting if we had a brief similar to cortexers/maps/nav stuff/etc.

Gonner Hendershot

This marks my second event, both of which circumstance has lead me to attend on my own.
I have to say that most of the big plot sailed straight over my head, I only found out about important events by accident, e.g. when someone came into camp shouting "Blue Sun's poisoned the water". This was mainly due to my own inattentiveness.
The plot is out there, it is somewhat up to the players to go out and find some. It is a little difficult to find your footing for new characters, especially those on their own, but I think that the refs have taken this on board for future reference.
As to the cliqueness, I have found that most people are quite polite and friendly IC, a few aren't for purely IC reasons which is fine. Plucking up the courage to say hello to a complete stranger at an event may be difficult for some, but all I can recommend is to try.
My only real advice to all is keep your eyes open, try not to sleep through most of the plot (like I did), and keep yourself open for the experience.

As a side note, I enjoyed the event immensely despite being unable to keep my attention fixed on anything for long. If I went OOC during time in and offended anyone therein, you have my apologies.

Delwyn "Can't wait for the next event" Gee

Aishka

Please excuse my late arrival to this topic.

I know that on Saturday evening we were discussing the occurances so far fairly freely IC, but I certainly hadn't drunk enough to go telling people the plot! Wink

I know this is not true in all games, but surely if you have a good relationship thus far with an NPC, and you ask them what's happenning, they might tell you? Smile

Also, it seems slightly confusing to say that NPCs were not circulating plot info, then to say that when you asked and were told you thought it was OC Confused

So maybe it was in the NPC's best interests to let people know what BS were doing. Or (may I assume I was the NPC in question?) maybe she just liked you Wink

Lisa

Coben Dane

Zhang Pei Smith

It was a top event, and any faults I had wih it were minor at best.

I enjoyed the arranging the jobs I was given, fleeing from the feds and having to bury our goods in the forest was certainly cause for much tension.

It would be nice to have more IC money, credits would be handy. I know that the cortex link problem was partially plot related, but having a printout in the character packs would be handy as I had no idea about how much money I actually had.

I liked the few gunfights I was in, they were nice and dramatic, even though (as always) I found it impossible to keep an accurate count to how many times I had been shot.

It was cool to see some of the character backgrounds of our ship crew turn up and try and shoot all of us.

The monster crew were fantastic.

Coben Dane

Capt Tom Crowson

Tobias Rieper

Just a thought for next time - could the people bringing "moonshine" make it a little more realistic? the stuff prince brought accross and gave shikoba tasted like cat pee, and had no kick to it at all. most dissapointing Razz

For next event, i was thinking of bringing a couple of bottles of real "moonshine" - high proof grain alcahol mixed with some kind of fruit juice. (un-mixed is slightly harsh on the throat.....).

August

Bar

Tobias Rieper

Prince

Lily