how do these latest events work? I totally don't get it.

[faedyne]

I heard an announcement for the first event, where generals were meeting in... Fairhaven or something. I forget. I also forgot to attend. I haven't heard announcements for the events that followed though, although I'm not sure what the point of participating in them is. I don't demand uber-gear or gazillion experience, but this is scripted crap that regardless of who, will help a non-player achieve the objective. *shrug*

[mboeing]

but this is scripted crap that regardless of who, will help a non-player achieve the objective. *shrug*

You are so wrong here. The "NPC" are played by guides / GMs. Its all about roleplaying. This has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of quest / missions where you fullfill a task and get a reward. This is about getting involved in the story. If roleplaying is not your thing, you can skip these events.

[kostika]

Attend a few of these then make your decision. They are good fun and involve alot of story. Even if they are scripted, they're still very good. If you're not interested in the story, you can definately skip these events.

[dc77066]

I missed the Pirate one in Fairhaven. From what I caught in region chat it looked like fun.

They tend to boil down to meeting in Place A, watching two or three people play-act, run to Place B, watch two or three people play-act and run to Place C where someone tells you the event is over. Sometimes you have to fight mobs along the way but you get the feeling that they really aren't part of the story. The Goo-infected Gibbaï from last week was a nice addition but it didn't appear that killing them had any true relevance (I only saw a few myself and they were nuked pretty quickly). First come, first serve.

You do need to fool yourself that this is part of the bigger story. That pirates do roam the low seas of Liberty Lake (without boats!) and there are sinster forces plotting to make their own mundane existence just a little more bearable. But before this turns into a "where's the story!" rant it does show that story can be provided by means other than the Lore Pages and the Forum. True they tend to be more colorful and informative and you can return to them for reference. True the NPC's seem to be ambigious of current affairs and past transgressions. But we've already engaged our imagination that Atys is real, that our characters are real, that our destiny is influenced by the actions and decisions we make everyday and all things are connected. "A butterfly flaps its wings in China..."

We do need these mini-events. We do need player-run events. Sometimes we need to be spoon-fed and sometimes we need to be left asking "wth?"
We also need events that are long and involved that take us deeper. The Kitin invasion of Bounty Beaches was a great example of where to start. NPC outposts were created and players had to furnish armor, weapons, and mats. NPC's would be generated in response to player involvement. But once the queen kitin was killed and everyone collected all the rewards they could stand to collect it was over. The camps disappeared and players were left asking "what do we do now?" or "what was all that about?" Would have been nice if the camps stayed and it they continued to function. Maybe turn into little outposts... call it urban sprawl... We did have a sense of accomplishment but it was belittled by the fact we didn't have to do anything and still succeed. In the end it was a team of 9 that nuked the queen dead while a dozen of other teams of 9 attempted to do the same. There is no scar, no territory gained, no stories of the heroic forager that braved the harshness of weather and aggro to bring us that last packer full of auto-launcher ammo mats that turned the tide of battle.

Dang it! I said this wasn't a rant!

Use your imagination. Read the Lore. Make your own destiny. Atys is but a stage and we are merely players...

[micrix]

You are so wrong here. The "NPC" are played by guides / GMs. Its all about roleplaying. This has absolutely nothing to do with the kind of quest / missions where you fullfill a task and get a reward. This is about getting involved in the story. If roleplaying is not your thing, you can skip these events.

They are played by GMs/Guides ? Are the Harlequins a GM/Guide guild for RP purpose ?

If yes, they should add an event chat channel. Should be possible. I remember the one event to win graphic cards had its own channel.

Those worth-nothing events are very interessting, i hate it when someone spoils them on region or surrounding chat. Those events could be much better if no custom chat is annoying inbetween. And some players should think about it that this are RP events. Play them or keep quiet !! And stop killing small animals while breaks. It ruins every phantasy. Such RP events are like soapbubbles. One must build them up carefully and they vanish very easy. You get only fun out of them if they make it up in the sky....

[mmatto]

They are played by GMs/Guides ? Are the Harlequins a GM/Guide guild for RP purpose ?

I guess so or event NPC AI is very sophisticated as they can give intelligent replies when addressed or they can even comment about some player running around naked.

And sometimes event "NPC"'s line shows incorrectly as Shadowwe's as there have been space or other extra characters before command to shout as an event character

[drizzeth]

They are played by GMs/Guides ? Are the Harlequins a GM/Guide guild for RP purpose ?

Harlequins of Atys is the guild that guides use to rollplay charachters, put up a play etc. so yes

Atrium Keepers is the guides guild for gm charachters

[dc77066]

..If yes, they should add an event chat channel. Should be possible. I remember the one event to win graphic cards had its own channel.
...

Here, Here! I know "Event Chat" has been suggested several times before. It definitely would be an added bonus to events. I've seen event messages all over the place (around, shout, region, system info, universe). You can easily miss out on vital clues or plot twists.

[sx4rlet]

I heard an announcement for the first event, where generals were meeting in... Fairhaven or something. I forget. I also forgot to attend. I haven't heard announcements for the events that followed though, although I'm not sure what the point of participating in them is. I don't demand uber-gear or gazillion experience, but this is scripted crap that regardless of who, will help a non-player achieve the objective. *shrug*

If I read Tidings' posts (http://www.ryzom.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13994), I get the impressions something is going on, the last days have been full of events. I helped escorting General Daemla to Yrkanis, and heard from some guildies that they helped General Rehn in getting an amber piece that is needed.

The little bits that that I have seen were a lot of fun, and I like the notice a story is going on...

And about that event channel, yes please!

[earthforce]

I enjoyed making fun of General Rehn