Dark Lord 2, again.

Alright staff, here's the low-down.

You took an event that previously failed and made it monstrously appealing to me. Unfortunately, Dark Lord 2 did not affect others as strongly or as favorably. A good job, but I think server-raids should take a rest for a bit until a sure and rewarding formula is discovered to benefit the entirety of the GE player core.

The staff successfully took measures to optimize playing experience with simple placement decisions. Splaying the conflict across three channels was something I would have done. Granted, the graphic lag was frightening to a number of clients, but I still managed to click through the chaos and land a good number of strikes on the gigantic horses. Deciding to have players explore for monsters was a good idea as well. Having the monsters come to the players would probably lead to another lag massacre.

However, graphical lag will always be apparent despite the measures taken to avoid it. Although the staff is not to blame for the playerbase's lack of decent computing equipment, graphical slowdowns do lead to a diminishing in fun-factor. It was difficult to move, use skills and effectively micromanage with a mere five-to-ten frames per second. Regardless, it would be nice to have in-game events that are not as brutally affected by low-midrange computer specifications. I can't think of one off the top of my head, but I will reserve a positive review for such an activity.

I personally felt the raid was monstrously exciting until the last creature fell, but its lack of rewards soured the aftermath. The loot was dismal for my faction and me, managing to scavenge a single 68 +5 from the entire endeavor. It was hinted that Amethy was being particularly generous post-victory, but none of my faction's inventories reflected it. While I am vying for the RP reward, my friends were not and conveyed their disappointment with the event with frankness and spite. They had worked hard despite the overwhelming odds and oppressive graphic lag for practically nothing. I happen to be an optimist and an appreciative goon, but I suspect other players are not so forgiving.

However, there is a negative pit in my stomach. I'm under the impression that I was the only role-player actively playing my character's emotions in Doriane's army, if not the entire Cervantes server. I do know NineMoons and other Cervantes-based RP advocates from the RP thread do exist, but reports from a few friends in other channels reported zero literary activity. While I'm not entirely surprised, I'm somewhat disappointed in the GE community for being so frighteningly cold to RP in general. "Personally" engaging with other characters' personalities was something I looked forward to.

The incorporation of the forum was a nice gesture, but I do not believe judging role-play is an appropriate contest. As I voiced in my previous posts, it isn't an activity that should be put under the competitive banner. Role-play is not about winning, it's about expressing your creativity through an emotional avenue without fear of being judged. Although I do approve of rewarding RPers for their efforts over not at all, I would prefer that all fiction writers/role-players should be commended for their unrewarded contributions to the flavor of Granado Espada. Also, it appears that very few members of sGE actively participate in RP, as evidenced by the frequent "confused-fellow" post in every thread.

Either way, I had a good deal of fun. My emotions are still clutching the event, a clear indicator that it was a success on a small, individual scale. On a larger, more unkind platform, it appears lukewarm and slightly out of touch with the general sGE player.