Thank you to all the GMs who put in the time to make the Spitfire both an enjoyable, memorable, and service-filled event. I hope the staff enjoyed themselves as well.

I especially enjoyed the wheel with Farain and Vermin (and I guess Roxe too).

---

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. - Albert Einstein

great job all, my bank is tremendously injured ..... but had a awesome time, thank you.


Thuunder

I play in Plat, so I'm sure my experience was vastly different than in Prime.

I would, however, like to say I absolutely loved this event. I know many times there were merchants that came to do GALD or siegery services and seemed starved for attention. Please don't assume we don't appreciate you, we just have a lot smaller player base and many of us struggle to find something to alter. I know a few of us (Like Vyrsh and I) will often buy something just to provide work for you, haha. There were a lot of fun RP merchants, and some general quirkiness that made it that much more fun.

While I'm not sure I could name all of them, even if I tried, but to name a few that I probably spent the most time with.



Farain and his SALE! SALE! SALE! as well as his Wheel of Walk the Plank! I mean... Wheel of Chance.

Stilka and her minis, even if we did discover they got borked somehow. I still blame Nishima. (Love the minis)

Zefrina the Pirate, because she was as silly as I was.

Gizwizit the Great, one of my long time favorites from my very first event.

Phrolo and Sanster for Conquest Wheel (even if you did let us down with a lack Dragon Bones. haha. Kinda teasing, I know that requires a decent sized crowd to make the game more fun and we sort of lack that)

Estinielle (I hope I spelled that right,) Imie, and Thris for all working in Thris's shop (Plus for Thris for giving all Plat Wizards able to cast 920 a perm. familiar talisman)

That's all I can think of at the moment, if I missed you, it wasn't intentional, it's just that I'm still recovering from a lack of sleep.

Haha, once I found out about those, I went and bought like 20 or 30 of them. WARE OUR NEXT MEET, SAULI! WARE!

I made it to 6 (and 7).

Yes a free, fun week of festival is good anytime!

I had an absolute blast, and just want to take a moment to thank the GMs for all of their hard work in working on the shops before the event, and putting up with demanding players during the events. I realize while you're in the trenches, it's relatively thankless of comparing the players' designs to guidelines, getting approvals where necessary, making all of the changes to the item properties in the backend, and trying to be somewhat interactive with the players while they're ALL whispering you NONSTOP, expecting IMMEDIATE replies.

But, I think this event was a great success. I loved the fact that you guys did small F2P merchants as well for all of those potentially returning veterans or just newbies that may not truly know the value of an alteration. The new services were fun and inventive.

All in all, a wonderfully planned and executed event, and I know it's a relatively thankless job to take care of all of us, but thank you! It was a lot of fun!

~Whirlin

I like that idea Tarakan. I spent 4 services myself, and I would have been glad to spend multiples to get something else special.

I had fun, I drowned twice!

I just managed to hit the 10-service mark less than an hour before everything closed down, and I spent a lot of time on the Spitfire thanks to a light work week for me and a heavy one for my husband. I was fortunate enough to run into Crumblybeard twice and Estinelle three times, so that was half my allotted service amount. (Sanster, Toebeard, Farain, Tott and Flem did the rest of my work, and they were all fantastic -- loved my first experience with the Conquest Wheel!) I have only one account, so ten services was a good fit for me on a week when I could devote a lot of time to the game; if I'd had my usual work schedule, or if my husband hadn't been putting in extra hours at his job, I probably wouldn't have reached the limit. On the other hand, I was very aware of that limit and did decide to skip some services I didn't feel as passionate about.

I do know a lot of people saw merchants or entered raffles with multiple accounts, so the "10 services per account" thing didn't really matter much to them as they could pass the same item back and forth between accounts at will to get what they wanted done. At least one merchant worked on the same item two or three times as it changed hands from account to account. I'm not passing any judgment on whether this should or shouldn't happen, but it's something to keep in mind with service limitations in the future -- they could have the effect of punishing single-account players while not really affecting the multi-account players' experience of the event, particularly if the limits are set low. For me, 10 services was great, but toward the end, I chose not to enter some raffles or get work done because I wanted to save space for a kitten win (hah, as if!).

That's a decision multi-accounters don't have to make, and it's something to keep in mind for future service limits. Of course, this was also a free event, so people could more easily bring the whole "family" as they might not do for pay events like EG.

Enough about that -- on to the thanks! I had a wonderful time with all of it, but for me, some of the highlights were:

- Learning to play that Conquest Wheel game with the help of some whispered advice from other players and some encouragement from Sanster, who stuck around to do a little lightening and deepening for the small late-night crowd
-Crumblybeard, who was just tireless in altering items to the utmost with some of the loveliest designs I've seen. Just above and beyond in every possible way!
- Farain's Wheel of Torture and the fun of watching it all even when I wasn't picked
- Estinelle's fabulous merchandise and willingness to work long hours. The corsets and laces are ingenious, and I'd love to see an expanded line with gowns and sandals and anything else that laces!
- Phrolo's very cool bags. I didn't get a chance to work with Phrolo, but I did enjoy RPing with him the night before his shop opened. I also bought some great off-the-rack stuff
- The adorable pirate girl whose name begins with a D (and which I have forgotten because I caught a case of the dumbs and didn't log) who wanted a kitten as much as Lylia did -- and took action to make it happen
- Fisthave's search for a husband. Or wife. Or I'm not really sure, but she was very into finding a life partner.
- The wonderful wizard familiar alterations. I don't play a wizard and have no use for those services, but it made so many people so very happy, and I enjoy seeing all the unusual familiars and companion animals roaming around.
- The quality of a lot of the off-the-rack stuff. Estinelle's corsets were gorgeous and fun even without alterations, and so were Phrolo's containers. And of course, everyone loves climate-wear.

>PS. Come back again, Vermin, o kindred spirit!

Careful. I will eat your eyes.

Auchand/Vermin

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

>That being said, I would really be disappointed to see these kinds of limits placed on pay events like Ebon's Gate.

Good thing for you that there's no such event as Ebon's Gate!

Also good thing for you that I'm not in charge of events! But here's some food for thought.

I was championing a 35 service limit for the past Ebon Gate. I felt that 35 was a good goal because it's a number most people would never hit, but still high enough that if you put in the time, you would walk away with a lot. While it didn't happen, we still tracked services and I still think 35 is a good number. The median was 10 services, the average was 13 services, and the mode was 6. MERCHANT EBON should still work if you can't remember where you fell.

There were 23 accounts who received more than 35 services who would have been affected by the limit. Those 23 accounts racked up 222 services above the limit. The four accounts with the most services walked away with an additional 110 services over the 35 service soft limit. And no, none of those four accounts are who you think.

There were 43 accounts who received only one or no services. Having tracked a lot of those people down and offered them services, some of them declined any work. So it's not a simple case of, if we hadn't done those extra 110 services for five people, we could have done at least two for each of the accounts with one or no services. Generally those who get more merchant services are familiar with them, so the service goes faster. However, there is no way around the fact that 110 services, no matter how prepared the player is, do take time. Generously assuming that a service takes at a minute for these prepared players, that is two hours of merchant time devoted to four people above and beyond what I would consider a reasonable amount of services. And that isn't fair. At some point, if players cannot regulate themselves, we have to step in and do it for them.

I really liked how the service limit worked for the Spitfire. As some of the comments in this thread show, it made some players think twice about throwing their hat in for a service they weren't too keen on. Choices had to be made, but people were still able to walk away with things happy with things they did want. I still saw plenty of players get gifts for friends and loved ones. These were still some accusations that things were rigged or some players were winning everything, but it was far, far less than normal.

I don't know how the service limit will play out in the future. And again, I'm not the decision maker in that area. But I thought some of these data points were interesting.

~Vanah

<I don't know how the service limit will play out in the future. And again, I'm not the decision maker in that area. But I thought some of these data points were interesting.

I like the idea of service limits at free fests. I even like the idea of a high, but still capped, service limit at UNLIMITED ticket events like Ebons.

LIMITED ticket events, more like wavedancer then RTCF/CCF, really shouldn't have a limit other then raffles. My personal pet peeve is seeing someone win 2+ raffles at a limited fest. Some of us rarely if ever see our names drawn, and seeing the same people over and over gets disheartening. Some people are just lucky, and some people are spinner magnets. At the same time, there are some people that if there are 11 people in the room, and the Merchant spins for 10, 9 time out of ten, they will be the one not spun.

That's why I do love when merchants offer some services to those that haven't had any, be there a service limit or not.

Personally, neither of my accounts got anything at this fest. To be honest, I only tried once, and the GM couldn't do what a friend asked me to try to get for her. So I passed. I normally don't merchant hunt at free fests, I am one of those anti spinner people. Also, on a personal note, I get bored sitting there for 2+ hours watching people's atmo items and the token people.. (there is always that one that tries to flirt with the merchant, always the one that is whining and crying they didn't get picked for something they would love and adore and never ever sell.. then sell a week later..) Also.. it's a free fest, and while I am not trying to be noble or anything, I like to think that if I don't run around and get services I really don't need, maybe someone that doesn't go to pay events will. As I try to attend every pay event.

Anyway... I like limits at fests. if anything, it spreads out services more, which is a good thing... and.. OMG... 250 services for 4 people!!!!! Even if it was spread out evenly.. that's 75!! per person. Seriously... talk about greedy.

Also, to whoever opened the wagon with the hairsticks... Madam or sir, thank you. I bought two of each hairstick. Please, please, for the love of all things holy and righteous, let an unlocking for these be available soon.

>>I might be down, but I'm not dead. There's better days still up ahead. Even after all I've seen, there's hope in front of me.

>I was sitting at 8/10 services on each account

my spinner juju was definitely way off. My accounts got 1 and 4 services. Most nights the bulk of the merchanting seemed to start after midnight eastern.

I've been and on and off player since the late 90's (admittedly, more off than on), and last week was my first ever merchant services. I've always been one of those unlucky ones who never get picked. A friend and I both came to the event with 2 accounts each, and probably walked away with ~12 total services. One of his characters won an unlocked climate cloak, which shocked the hell out of us...never in any of our years had either of us (or any of our old personal friends) ever won anything major.

Since I didn't expect to get close to the cap, I didn't mind the limit at all. I plan on attending the next pay event, and honestly, 10 services there (per account) would be awesome to me if it were a guaranteed thing; but that's probably due to the fact that I still see merchant services (even GALD) as "rare" and something to be excited about.

>>Since I didn't expect to get close to the cap, I didn't mind the limit at all. I plan on attending the next pay event, and honestly, 10 services there (per account) would be awesome to me if it were a guaranteed thing; but that's probably due to the fact that I still see merchant services (even GALD) as "rare" and something to be excited about.

There will be a serious uproar if they limit services at a pay event without a guaranteed top tier prize. Think CCF, RtCF, etc.

>>I might be down, but I'm not dead. There's better days still up ahead. Even after all I've seen, there's hope in front of me.

>>At first I was a little leary about a 10 service limit, I'm a firm believer in the idea that the amount of services you get should be directly proportional from how much time you put into an event, but I kept an open mind going into this. And honestly, I can't really complain... I think 10 services per account was fair all things considered and I still managed to get done the things I really needed to.<<

>>That being said, I would really be disappointed to see these kinds of limits placed on pay events like Ebon's Gate.<<

I have mixed feelings on the limit of services as well. I do agree with Riend on hoping a cap for paid events isn't put into place. On that note though, I think for the Spitfire it actually worked well and it became a fun challenge to reserve spots for services I really wanted. When my services jumped from three to eight in one day, I realized I had some decisions to make in the next two days. I had goals of holding out for Ianthra and also a climate wear unlock from either Carax or Farain. Luckily on the last day I was able to get both and it put a new twist on merchant hunting when you had to be conservative about your work.

>>LIMITED ticket events, more like wavedancer then RTCF/CCF, really shouldn't have a limit other then raffles. My personal pet peeve is seeing someone win 2+ raffles at a limited fest. Some of us rarely if ever see our names drawn, and seeing the same people over and over gets disheartening.<<
Agreed totally on the raffle caps.

All in all, I had a great time during this festival. Couple of special thank yous:
*Estinelle--LOOOOOVE your corsets and laces, please open up a permanent shop :)
*Carax--I was leaving to work out when you announced you were going to be unlocking your climate clothes (I know, priorities). I was super bummed, but figured it would happen another time. By chance when I logged back on a couple hours later, you had unlocked your doors and I was able to grab a service from you. So thank you!
*Farain--Thanks for all your hard work and creative input and of course, the laughs.
*Vermin--Glad you put your pants back on to dance with Kayse, even if it was on your head.
*Ianthra--It was already established that I <3 you, but <3<3<3.
*Jellybeard--Always great fun watching the interactions with you and everyone else.

~Kayse

---

(OOC) You quietly whisper to Riend, "What's the verb for glancing at someone and exhaling?"
(OOC) Farain's player whispers, "I think its kiss farain."

>I'm a fan of limited services for free events, but unlimited for pay events. The more effort and time one puts into a festival should be reflected with more services, and if I pay for a festival, I'll make time to have it be worth it to me.

Yep, I think I'm leaning toward this viewpoint too. On the one hand, it does kind of bug me when I see the same item go to a merchant two or three times during a session as it gets passed from account to account under the same player's control and knowing this person is circumventing the 10-service limit. On the other hand, it didn't limit my access to services any more than an unlimited event would have; I'm still competing against the same people who bring a train of other accounts with them to every raffle and spin. It's not really something the GMs can stop, at any rate. It's just annoying to see and makes me think, "This is why we can't have nice things." No one would need limits if people could limit themselves a little better and not suck up 75 items' worth of a merchant's time.

At any rate, none of it dimmed my enjoyment of the Spitfire at all. I had such a blast! Love Vermin to bits, by the way, even though Lylia is none too sure about him. :)

--- Lauren, Lylia's player

>so did anyone hit the 10 service limit?

I was sitting at 9 from Wednesday or so? I purposely skipped attempting for what must have been another 10+ events I saw, since I didn't want another GALD and left a slot open for some end-of-event raffles or another tattoo, etc.

My wife also maxed out I'm pretty sure.

And this is coming from Tokyo. Anyone who didn't max out is a major slacker!! Haha.

This festival was excellent, by the way. Lots of fun, cool stuff, etc, etc, etc.

---

Check out who's dying any time! https://twitter.com/GSIVDeathLog

>This from someone who lives outside of the US and didn't miss out on sleep or fresh air!

I think west coasters and foreigners won on this fest. There was almost no one working during the week prime time EDT.