Category Archives: In Game Events

How Was the Grand Acquisition Race?

20 Monday Aug 2012

Posted by in In Game Events, poll

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I expected to be doing my own write-up of the race today, but that is not to be. You see, dear reader, I was out on vacation all of last week, with my game playing time during the Race being limited to Sunday. And although I logged in on Sunday morning, raring to go, I did not end up making it through much of the Race, which was very disappointing, especially considering that I spent several hours working at it.

Here were a few things that tripped me up:

  • “Bonus” quests weren’t actually optional. They were, in fact, how you obtained the item. I thought the items were in fixed locations, and the bonus quests just were an alternate way to get them at first, and thus I ran off after getting a bonus quest in an area swarming with others attempting to do it.
  • Other players could sabotage your quest. I found this out on DK, while fighting off 4 baddies, when some jerk came up and repaired my droid, thus FUBAR’ing my quest. As I learned later, I could have abandoned the entire Race quest chain, backtracked to Nar Shadda and gotten it again without losing my progress to reset it. But at the time, how to go about resetting it (I abandoned it and went back to the area I picked up the droid hoping that would do it to no avail) was not obvious.
  • Some quests required using an item, and a dozen people were already waiting to use the item. The droid race area was swarming with people battling it out to get the fastest click. The standing around and waiting got old after about 5 minutes for me.
  • Looking for and looting boxes to procure random items was not appealing for me on a PvP server, alone. I had 2 or so guildies on at any given time, and friends who were interested in doing the Race had already done so at this point, leaving me to group up with strangers, which I did some. But for random items to loot, that would not have been a good strategy. And at some point it just seemed like a lot of time/effort/work and not so much fun. Which is why I didn’t just start over and try doing it on my PvE server. At the end of the day, I just don’t think that would have boosted my enjoyment.

And this is why despite having sunk a few hours into it, I logged out yesterday afternoon, without having completed the Race. And I’ll admit it: I was bummed out about it. I’m not a quitter. Or a slacker. But at the end of the day, I play these games to have fun. And this event just…wasn’t fun for me.

Was it just me? Was this some sort of post-vacation inability to get back into the swing of the game?

Let me know your thoughts on the event in the comments!

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And Then POOF! Went the Rakghoul Plague

29 Sunday Apr 2012

Posted by in In Game Events

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Surprisingly, the Rakghoul Plague went out with a whimper this week. Although we had been warned of the end day/time by the devs earlier, it was surprising, after such an immersive event had taken place, to find activities on the fleet back to normal. Well, other than the few remaining rakghoul plague victims who kept exploding all over the GTN.

What I’d been expecting was some sort of finale to cap off this engaging event. Maybe a big battle that broke out in the fleet. Or an all-galaxy intercom announcement that a cure had been found. Or an email that all those plague samples we sold to that adorable little Jawa paid off in finding a way to contain the virus.

Instead, it was just gone. Poof. And we were returned to our every day lives. James Ohlen has asked folks to share feedback on the event, so I hope folks who feel similarly will also chime in on this.

What about you — did you feel the event needed some sort of story completion or a finale? Or were you happy with how it ended? Share your thoughts in the comments.

An Update on the Rakghoul Plague from the Imperial Biohazards Containment Bureau

19 Thursday Apr 2012

Posted by in In Game Events, screenshots

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Dear Readers–

As a continuation of my public service efforts around increasing the spread of information on the rakghoul plague, I’ve tracked down one of the containment effort’s leaders, to gain further enlightenment around the rakghoul threat. I do hope the following interview adds to your peace of mind, friends.

cheers,

Anexxia

ANEXXIA: Please introduce yourself to our readers

BRASHART: I am Doctor Corrandus Brashart with the Imperial Biohazards Containment Bureau, a division of the Ministry of Logistics. How may I assist you, my lord?

ANEXXIA: Can you tell us a little bit about your involvement in the containment of the rakghoul plague on Tatooine?

BRASHART: I am presently leading the Empire’s efforts to understand this virulent outbreak to ensure it does not spread far beyond this insignificant dust ball of a planet. My ultimate goal is to develop a vaccine that will render our citizenry immune to future infection.

ANEXXIA: When was the Imperial leadership first made aware of this outbreak? How did we find out?

BRASHART: The plague clearly began within the Republic. Our first indications of its spread came from their HoloNet reports. I personally briefed the Minister of Logistics immediately upon verifying the news was not some ridiculous form of prank entertainment.

ANEXXIA: I suspected this was a Republic-instigated event. Have we made in progress on identifying or better yet capturing our patient zero?

BRASHART: I fear identifying the initial plague carrier will be next to impossible, as this person almost certainly emerged from Republic space and is very likely already dead. At this point, our best hope is to focus on the recently infected and learn what we can from them.

ANEXXIA: There have been baseless Republic rumours circulating that the plague was, in fact, initially manufactured by Imperial scientists as a biological weapon, with further insinuations this outbreak is, in fact, our clinical trials. Can you help put these treasonous rumours to rest?

BRASHART: This is an outrageous accusation, my lord. It is a matter of historical record that the rakghoul plague first began on the Republic planet of Taris over three-hundred years ago. It re-emerged during the Republic’s failed attempt to restore a colony on that world, forcing the Empire to step in and quarantine the entire system. Quite frankly, I believe the Republic created this plague to destabilize the Empire and threaten its innocent citizens.

ANEXXIA: I am certain your suspicions on this will be found out to be true.

ANEXXIA: My sources have been hearing about isolated plague cases turning up on other planets. Do we have any official confirmation of these cases? Are they just isolated instances of contaminated Tatooines making it off the planet and being captured by containment officers?

BRASHART: There have been a few reports of inconsequential outbreaks occurring on other worlds. All were the result of infected individuals fleeing Tatooine. My office quickly responded to contain these emergencies. There is no cause for alarm, my lord. I encourage anyone suffering from plague symptoms to remain aboard their starships and contact the Imperial Biohazards Containment Bureau. We will dispatch a team of trained medical technicians to assist them.

ANEXXIA: I have personally noticed a proliferation of small rakghouls being carried around by otherwise sane Imperials as pets. Is there any threat of plague contamination from these trendy crimson raklings and pale raklings?

BRASHART: Quite honestly, I can’t understand why anyone would want to be followed around by those vicious little beasts. But I’m not a pet person, my lord. Suffice it to say that we are monitoring those creatures very closely and would prefer their owners keep them in cages until more is known about them.

ANEXXIA: What can the general public do currently to help assist in the containment of this pandemic?

BRASHART: For the love of the Empire, please do not go to Vaiken Spacedock if you or anyone traveling with you is suspected of being infected! We’ve received disturbing reports of “plague parties” being attended by clearly suicidal and disturbed individuals. That is simply an inappropriate response to this emergency. Please think of your fellow citizens before taking such rash action.

ANEXXIA: How terribly uncivilized. Is there anything else we should be aware of?
*cracks her fingers, readying up a nice purpley shock should that be necessary to extract more information*

BRASHART: My Lord… I guarantee you will be the first to hear of any new developments.

ANEXXIA: Thank you so much for the informative conversation today, Doctor Brashart. That will be all…for now.

Incurable Rakghoul Pandemic Panics the Intergalactic Public

16 Monday Apr 2012

Posted by in diary entries, In Game Events

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This morning, in need of stretching my legs after a good night’s sleep, I popped down to the Imperial Fleet from my ship, and was immediately startled by an unprecedented all systems alert over the PA systems. I tried to shake off the sense of dread that washed over me by looking through some synthweaving schematics, but couldn’t get the travel advisory out of my mind.

Over 10,000 dead so far, with thousands more infected and outbreak area growing exponentially as the virus continues to mutate. In an effort to try to contain the outbreak to the planet, government officials have asked the public to refrain from visiting or in any way communicating with Tatooine and its inhabitants.

While I do, of course, agree with their methods in general, I also knew that this was exactly the sort of catastrophe for which I am personally well-suited to handle. Which is why I immediately hopped on my speeder and zoomed back to my ship’s hangar and made my way to Tatooine.

Once there, I found the typically unremarkable outpost of Mos Ila swarming with containment troops, staring down infected citizens at rifle point. I was pleased to note they heeded our orders and immediately took down any people who showed signs of turning into rakghouls. Well met.

Having spent a good deal of time on Tatooine in my early days, I immediately noticed a few abnormalities– like the escape pod that had lodged itself in one of the unused city outbuildings. Where there is an escape pod, there is an escapee. And a larger ship from which they were escaping.

My path was becoming more clear to me. If I could track down more of the debris from this crash — and better yet the hull of the ship itself and some of the survivors, I know I could get to the bottom of this mystery.

A highlight of my day was definitely coming upon the wreckage from the ship (now known to me as the Stardream) North of the Republic encampment in the Dune Sea. The place was swarming with infected personnel– and already turned rakghouls. Luckily, I was able to subdue one of the rakghouls enough to gather a significant blood sample before I put him out of his misery with a nice overload of purple lightning.

I took my blood sample to someone I trust [name redacted to protect my useful compatriot] who is working on weaponizing the virus as we speak. I’ll have to jump back in the fray tonight to obtain some additional samples. But for now, it’s back to the grindstone. Must Holo in for a few meetings and give the impression I’m cooling my heels on the fleet, awaiting Malgus’ next directive. What a fool that man is…I’m sure my incredibly convincing PSA on the radio show last night, warning all loyal members of the Empire to stay away from Tatooine will give the impression I’m more than towing the line…

–Anexxia