As most, or all of you, know, we had a week(ish) long event that will be completely over today one way or another aside from the followup threads made by participants. To me, this thread went by at a good pace and seemed entertaining, though as the mod, I can only see one side of the coin. I'll give my full break down of why it was done the way it was done, sans any plot spoilers in this thread, but first I want to hear the participants' opinions. Not just on the zombie theme, but stuff like the no post order for an event, the time limit, the level of difficultly, stuff like that.

Tell me what you feel worked in this case compared to past events we've had here and other places and tell me what didn't, basically.

No posting order was great. Because mostly, it made a 24hr time limit between your posts possible. The difficulty of the thread, judging by other's interactions was rather.. medium-to-high. You weren't too harsh nor were you mild, honestly, in my opinion, you did great. You kept a balance. While I was not in the event long, in comparison to early entries, I can say that without a doubt, I had fun. Everyone had entertaining posts and when the event goers where through with their round of posts, I just found myself wanting to read your reply. The zombie theme in general, it was nice. But to get in more detail, I enjoyed your use of various enemies. One little problem I had was with Berserkers, i felt like they were a little under-powered in terms of .. well, just their density. Though rotting, I suspected taking one out with bladed weapons would have been more difficult. Like mini-boss fights. (will submit ideas later to proper thread)


Thanks for making such an eventful event~ :3

I definitely had fun with the event, though my interaction with the NPC's was regrettably samey, though obviously that was my fault; when all you have is a hammer, as they say. The nature of the event lead to pretty good character interactions, and though I didn't keep my eyes on everybody near the end of the thread [God there were a lot of us] it certainly seemed like everybody got something out of the thread.

The lack of post order most definitely made the time limitation work, so it was nice to see that basically the only time the posts didn't all make it in time was only because of real world scenarios holding up players, more or less. It wasn't really an issue anyways, because it didn't cause a chain reaction of waiting or put anybody on the wire needlessly.

The difficulty of the NPC's was definitely manageable, possibly even simply low depending on the person and their actions/reactions - I know some people had more trouble than others, and then some had less. Some thought it wise to charge the giants and turn their backs on fliers, and others found it prudent to flee the charging brutes instead, and in the end, everything worked out ;p

Definitely a successful event, everything considered. Can't think of where I'd have altered things, except that I have that terrible habit of just flooding people with enemies - probably better that didn't happen anyways.

I'm afraid I can't say much which hasn't been said before and better, since I am still a newbie.

I thought you did well and helped facilitate a fun time. I agree with the choice to abolish post order, that worked really well

I do have two criticisms though. And I am mindful I tend to point out negatives than I do positives, so before I state them I wish to re-iterate that I thoroughly enjoyed the event and I give you my thanks and appreciation, and I don't envy you for having ALL of those people to trudge through ^_^

First of all, there was an issue on what to do if a move on an NPC zombie affected the next move of another player, such as me stabbing the Spitter attacking Miha or Ryuu rescuing Torako after dealing with the fliers.

Secondly, personally I think you went a bit easy on me

But again, GREAT EVENT! *applauds*

This was actually a lot of fun.

The lack of post order was great, like everyone else said. Especially because then we weren't stuck waiting on one person to post. I think that's what made past events drag on so much; There was a 24 hour time limit to post, but that limit was after the person who was suppose to post before you. Could you imagine if we used that time limit in this event? You said there were 15 people in it. That means, theoretically, it could take 15 days to get through one round of posting. The lack of post order, and 24 hour limit between your posts made it go quicker, and that way people didn't lose interest. A very good idea.

I'm only disappointed that I didn't join the event right at the beginning. Which says a lot, coming from me.

Overall I liked it a lot.

As everyone else has said the lack of a posting order was an amazing addition. It allowed the event to move by at a quick pace and it made sure that we all had something to post in everyday. The enemies were pretty managable at least for Ryuu but you had to really think out your actions due to how easily you could be taken out. Overall I really can't think of any major complaints that I have about the event.

I really liked the no post order/24hr stipulation. Makes things go by so much faster as others have said, also reduces the stress level of waiting and then potentially missing your slot because you were unable to post for whatever reason.

It did feel a little rushed, though, which I have mixed feelings about. I can't quite put a word or phrase to them (might be because I'm also exhausted), but if it manages to define itself, I'll let you know.

I know that personally, I would have preferred more of a challenge, but I think due to the volume of participants and the nature of the event itself, it was an okay oversight.

Overall, I really enjoyed the event as well. It was flowing a lot better with the way posting worked, and it was easier to manage when you can post. So a very good choice right there o.ob

As for things more specific to the vent, I did like the general setting and obstacles set against us. True, it did go past rather quickly, but we have to take in count it was a holiday special of course.

The one thing that I do have slightly mixed feelings about is how the event separated the players into rather clear cut grouped. Which was good on one hand, since it allowed to scale the challenge level a bit better for everyone. Why it does seem like you were a bit easy on us, I'd like to believe it was because none of us were doing anything particulary stupid for the most part. Besides having Ki set out to kill me is a bit of a scary though x.x

The problem with the separating into groups is the fact that it kind of stopped people from interacting with someone he didn't get a chance to do it with earlier. But again, that's mostly part of the time span, since if it would go on longer my group would have a chance to move forward and interact with other people, and besides,t he fallout of the event gives a chance for that as well.

So the main things that could be improved upon would be the length and opportunities to mingle with other players, though I realize that is something we need to work on ourselves, in the bounders of IC sense of course. Also maybe a bit more difficulty would be nice, but I'm pretty sure we wont have to worry about that.

Um, I don't really have much to say since I wasn't really in the thread, but it's unfortunate that I couldn't partake, because it seemed like a fun and amusing event, and was controlled posting and moderation/NPC wise rather well. Hopefully I can catch the next one. T_T

Just wanted to say thanks to all the people who posted their feedback here. I was waiting to see if a few more people would post, but it doesn't look like it, so I'm going to go ahead and reply. I'm going to attempt to do it in an organized manner, but we all know I'm a little bit scatterbrained, so we'll see.

Time Limit/No Post Order - First I want to give a brief explanation of why we have post order to begin with, at least in regular threads; its so people know when to post. Simple, I know, but it can get extremely confusing without it, especially with the more people you have. With a post order, you know you're always supposed to post after a certain person. This also keeps people from double posting before another person has a chance to act in a larger thread. With a three day limit in regular threads, it's not really an issue to have a post order and works well for the most part unless the thread has people who can't or don't post regularly. In which case, they are usually exited.

For the event however, the issue of knowing when to post was negated by the fact that I posted at the same time(ish) every day and said 'one post per my posts' and people knew they should wait for replies from people they interacted with before doing their own post in the consecutive rounds. This, as you guys already mentioned, made the 24 hour rule work. People knew that they had to get a post up and tried to do as soon as they could, for the most part, and in most cases, they didn't have to wait on people because they were more engaged with the NPCs or environment.

The 24 hour rule in itself, I feel, kept the event from getting stagnate. The veterans here know that it's usually a huge probably with events we have. So I feel it was an effective combination and test run. We'll definitely be giving it a shot in future events like this, but keep in mind I am still kind of experimenting with what works and what doesn't. Yeah, I know, "This is your third year, Ki! You should know what you're doing by now!" >,,> It's a forever-learning process, I'm sorry. :B But like I said, this looks like it works well, so I guess we're on the right track.

As far as Frox, I think what you're trying to say with this, "It did feel a little rushed, though, which I have mixed feelings about. I can't quite put a word or phrase to them (might be because I'm also exhausted), but if it manages to define itself, I'll let you know," might be because it was stated that instead of just being skipped or exited, the participants would be infected. I think that might have added an element of 'DO NOT WANT' that could have possibly made you feel more rushed than the time limit itself. I'm not sure, but if that's what it is, it wont be the case in future events (potentially).

In the future, it's unlikely I will use the additional 'one week' deadline that we used this time. I used it here because I was intending it to be a mere Halloween event, but as I plotted it out, I realized I could have it relate more to the plot that I first realize. So in the future, the events will hopefully move as fast, but wont be restricted to a week so that they can run their full course for the participants.

Enemy Difficulty - A few of you mentioned enemy difficulty in your posts and yes, these were fairly weak. I did give them some abilities that could have made them bigger threats, but I was playing to a level where most of the characters are at strength wise. With the exception of a couple of Captains and the one Arrancar that participated who had higher bases to start with, most of the participants really aren't ready for nitty gritty combat. I know this, so the difficulty level was done on a curve. Ryuu, having the most abilities/stats and only having one other person to protect (where as the captains were surrounded by other people) had the hardest fight because of this reasoning.

There was also the issue of numbers. I had A LOT of NPCs to deal with. 30 enemies, and some random NPCs. There were at least 15 people to address in the combat scenarios each time I had to post. So rather than having long detailed posts about exact fighting maneuvers and stuff, I generally gave the kill shots fairly easy. A few of you had some hitches, but that was to keep it from being too neat.

Because most people will have advanced their characters before the next event, the enemies already wont be so easy. However, I hear you guys and will attempt to give out more scrappy fights. We'll be tinkering with simultaneous events in the future, so hopefully we can divide the numbers of people participating among staff so one person doesn't have to respond to everything, but at the same time, we don't have to put a limit on event participation like we did in the past. I'm not sure, but we'll get it worked out somehow.

Jeff - This is to address the specifics of your post as you mentioned something different than the others, "First of all, there was an issue on what to do if a move on an NPC zombie affected the next move of another player, such as me stabbing the Spitter attacking Miha or Ryuu rescuing Torako after dealing with the fliers." As long as you aren't godmodding or autohitting, you can attempt actions that would change what the other person has to react to if they haven't posted that round. It's not an issue. In an event, it's still regular RP, you just have me or one of the RP mods throwing NPCs or environmental situations into the ring with you.

Haru - This is to address the specifics of your post as well as you mentioned something different than the others, "The one thing that I do have slightly mixed feelings about is how the event separated the players into rather clear cut grouped." I didn't separate you guys, I was in fact trying to get you all in a similar area with my NPCs directing people toward Sumie's location. Ryuu and Torako chose to hide after Torako decided to spend her first couple of posts looting, so zombies, who were stated to find victims base on their reiatsu, went there. Others went to you guys so you'd have something to interact with rather than standing around with Sumie asking questions or spending a turn traveling. At a later point, Mihamaru and Yoshiya chose to join Ryuu and Torako. I also didn't want to flood Ryuu and Torako with all the enemies since they were the first in front of the horde. They would have died, plain and simple.

*late* I liked it, having only really had time to post at work during the week, the lack of a post order made that incredibly easy for me and not having to worry about the possibility of messing up someone else by being a bit slow. The setting/mood was spot on and made for a rather interesting experience where the lot of us whom normally wouldn't interact as much as we would like, could.

I also got to use explody explody boom boom kidos, so that made me happy. And while it wasn't necessary, I had a Bruce Willis moment. So, all in all I enjoyed it on my end. Additionally a lot of the posts people were making (leaning toward Carb on this) were absolutely hilarious and enjoyable to read.

After reading through the enemy difficulty section that Ki posted I realized that it may have been a bit more balanced than it seemed. While the zombies were weak on an individual level the fact that there were much more of them made up for that fact. So I suppose the numbers of enemies versus the strength of each one might also be a factor to take into account.

I had family stuffs, fun things, so sorry for the lateness.

But I had a blast. I have been on a ton of RP forums over the last 12 years and I must say this was about the best Idea...as to mechanics...that I have come across. Story line was quite enjoyable too.

And keeping track of everyone and all the points there were to be received, in addition to who was fighting who, is quite amazing. I must say that as a player new to AK, I greatly appreciate having my foe scaled to my starter abilities. Though as it turns out I could have stood there while the guys tag-teamed my biter! That was hilarious!

I can't call this a complaint...how about a minor frustration? I understand why it doesn't work in regular RP, but boy a 24 hour thing sure would be nice there too or no posting order. It is difficult to wait, potentially, 3 days per participant for my turn sometimes.

So this was a most welcome relief to get to make a post everyday. Thank you!

I like the idea that maybe future events would run their course rather than have an expiration date. It would be a nice change up from the pace of regular RP. One thing...life interferes with play time. We all know that. I see you having to devise a skip-over-players-thing specific to the event, such as you did with getting the infection, to allow RP to continue while not exiting the player due to such a small time frame to reply.

I also like the idea of dual events with their own mods to help ease the load.