A major source of frustration for me has been crashing during the Lambda trial. I know Im not the only one. Virtually every trial Im on, I see other players disappear and then reappear a short time later. Its a minority of them, thankfully, but I do see a few every time. Oddly, it doesnt seem to be an issue in the BAF trial; I crash at least once in any Lambda trial I almost never crash in a BAF. And I see people vanish and reappear in BAF much, much less frequently.
Occasionally the crash happens at exactly the wrong time: just before the trial is won. I try to log back in as fast as possible, but I pop back in to the game right after the trial completes. No reward table. No merit. I also know Im not the only one this has happened to. Ive seen people complain here on the forums about getting gypped out of their reward by a crash happening at the wrong time.
Ive participated in the trials many, many times (dozens, Im sure). I enjoy them, quite a bit. Theyre a lot of fun. Thankfully, the crashing issue has only cost me the trial completion reward twice. The first time I wrote it off. The second time, I petitioned to see if the GMs would return the award to me (I made it clear Id actually be happy with the Empyrean Merit and 10 threads, exactly as if Id been judged to be not participating enough). Their response, while polite and professional, was what I expected: your character has to be present for the entire event and complete all the objectives to get the final reward. Since I wasnt present at the end of the trial, thanks to the crash, they couldnt give me any missed rewards. Okay, first, I want to point out that that is actually not the real policy:
You technically *don't* have to be present for the entire event, or even complete all the objectives (read: be present when they are completed) to get the Empyrean Merit and reward table at the end. I've crashed out before the sabotage phase of Lambda ended, and returned after the battle with Marauder had begun (thus missing completing the sabotage objective). I've crashed before Lambda sector's security was "breached" (the first objective of the whole trial), and been able to return to the trial after than objective was completed. I've crashed before Nightstar was defeated, and returned in the middle of the prisoner escape in the BAF. I've crashed midway through the prisoner escape, and returned during the fight with Siege. In every case I was (1) not present for the entire event, technically speaking, and (2) was not present for the completion of EVERY trial objective. And in every case when the trial was won, I got the Merit and the reward table.
The real policy is far more heavy handed than suggestest. I can be absent for the *majority* of the event. I can not be present for every single objective *provided I'm there for the completion of the final objective*, and I will get the reward table and the end Merit. I can be present for the *entire* trial, except for the last second, complete every objective up to the last one, and if I happen to get disconnect one *second* before the final objective completes, I won't get the merit, or the reward table. Heck, I could have logged off right as the trial began, go fixed myself a sandwich, watched a 22-minute Simpsons episode, logged back in, helped finish off the last 5% of Maurauder's hit points, and gotten *more* of a reward that I did for being present for most of the trail (I got: 3 Astral Merits = 12 threads + 4 threads from drops = 16 threads, versus getting 1 Emp. Merit = 20 threads + 10 thread 'didn't participate enough to get a component' reward = 30 threads).
The real policy is not "you have to be present for the entire event and complete every objective to get the end reward." It's "you have to be logged in the trial for that brief instant in time the reward table is presented - regardless of how much of the trial you actually participated in - to get the end reward." That sounds a lot more heavy-handed, but at least it's honest.
And frankly, its something I think the Devs should seriously consider changing. Heres why.
One, the Devs have stated they like to avoid designing things in a way that encourage aberrant behavior. It is obviously just my opinion, but to me normal behavior would be trying to log back in and return to my league to continue aiding them as quickly as humanly possible, no matter the circumstances. Aberrant behavior is thinking well, if nothing goes wrong, the trial has a good chance of being over before the server realizes the reason its not getting any input from my character and opts to log me off, so I better wait for a bit so that I can make sure my character is still logged in when the trial ends.
By the way, that does work. Ive crashed out, thought you know, the trails gonna be over by the time I get back on, but I know my character will stay online for about 30-60 more seconds. And if I try to load the game and sign in right now, itll tell me Im already logged in which also seems to always prompt the server to instantly log me off. So that might actually log me out right before the trail completes. So Ill just wait a few minutes before logging in, in the hope the server will still think Im online when the trial ends. And it worked. When I logged in, I got the reward table. Frankly, Id prefer to get the bigger reward from the former than the latter. Yet Im more likely to get the bigger reward from the latter rather than the former.
If you are disconnected right before a trail finishes, and return right after it completes, before all of the league members are even out of the mission map (as happened both times I didnt get the reward), theres got to be a way to flag you as deserving the reward table if it was a successful trial. Or at least whatever Merit is appropriate (Empyrean or Astral, depending on how long ago you got an Empyrean for that trial), and the 10 thread consolation prize. Getting whatever reward (component or threads) your personal participation score warrants is best, but, frankly eithers better than nothing.
Or at least change the policy so that the GMs are allowed to give you the reward if the logs clearly indicate thats what happened to you. (And they do thats what the GM told me in the response to my petition; it was clear Id been disconnected right before the trial ended, and logged back in as fast as possible afterward.) Even if they cant spawn the reward table for you, at least the 10 threads + Merit is better than no reward at all!
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!)
Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)
A major source of frustration for me has been crashing during the Lambda trial. I know Im not the only one. Virtually every trial Im on, I see other players disappear and then reappear a short time later. Its a minority of them, thankfully, but I do see a few every time. Oddly, it doesnt seem to be an issue in the BAF trial; I crash at least once in any Lambda trial I almost never crash in a BAF. And I see people vanish and reappear in BAF much, much less frequently.
Occasionally the crash happens at exactly the wrong time: just before the trial is won. I try to log back in as fast as possible, but I pop back in to the game right after the trial completes. No reward table. No merit. I also know Im not the only one this has happened to. Ive seen people complain here on the forums about getting gypped out of their reward by a crash happening at the wrong time.
Ive participated in the trials many, many times (dozens, Im sure). I enjoy them, quite a bit. Theyre a lot of fun. Thankfully, the crashing issue has only cost me the trial completion reward twice. The first time I wrote it off. The second time, I petitioned to see if the GMs would return the award to me (I made it clear Id actually be happy with the Empyrean Merit and 10 threads, exactly as if Id been judged to be not participating enough). Their response, while polite and professional, was what I expected: your character has to be present for the entire event and complete all the objectives to get the final reward. Since I wasnt present at the end of the trial, thanks to the crash, they couldnt give me any missed rewards. Okay, first, I want to point out that that is actually not the real policy:
You technically *don't* have to be present for the entire event, or even complete all the objectives (read: be present when they are completed) to get the Empyrean Merit and reward table at the end. I've crashed out before the sabotage phase of Lambda ended, and returned after the battle with Marauder had begun (thus missing completing the sabotage objective). I've crashed before Lambda sector's security was "breached" (the first objective of the whole trial), and been able to return to the trial after than objective was completed. I've crashed before Nightstar was defeated, and returned in the middle of the prisoner escape in the BAF. I've crashed midway through the prisoner escape, and returned during the fight with Siege. In every case I was (1) not present for the entire event, technically speaking, and (2) was not present for the completion of EVERY trial objective. And in every case when the trial was won, I got the Merit and the reward table.
The real policy is far more heavy handed than suggestest. I can be absent for the *majority* of the event. I can not be present for every single objective *provided I'm there for the completion of the final objective*, and I will get the reward table and the end Merit. I can be present for the *entire* trial, except for the last second, complete every objective up to the last one, and if I happen to get disconnect one *second* before the final objective completes, I won't get the merit, or the reward table. Heck, I could have logged off right as the trial began, go fixed myself a sandwich, watched a 22-minute Simpsons episode, logged back in, helped finish off the last 5% of Maurauder's hit points, and gotten *more* of a reward that I did for being present for most of the trail (I got: 3 Astral Merits = 12 threads + 4 threads from drops = 16 threads, versus getting 1 Emp. Merit = 20 threads + 10 thread 'didn't participate enough to get a component' reward = 30 threads).
The real policy is not "you have to be present for the entire event and complete every objective to get the end reward." It's "you have to be logged in the trial for that brief instant in time the reward table is presented - regardless of how much of the trial you actually participated in - to get the end reward." That sounds a lot more heavy-handed, but at least it's honest.
And frankly, its something I think the Devs should seriously consider changing. Heres why.
One, the Devs have stated they like to avoid designing things in a way that encourage aberrant behavior. It is obviously just my opinion, but to me normal behavior would be trying to log back in and return to my league to continue aiding them as quickly as humanly possible, no matter the circumstances. Aberrant behavior is thinking well, if nothing goes wrong, the trial has a good chance of being over before the server realizes the reason its not getting any input from my character and opts to log me off, so I better wait for a bit so that I can make sure my character is still logged in when the trial ends.
By the way, that does work. Ive crashed out, thought you know, the trails gonna be over by the time I get back on, but I know my character will stay online for about 30-60 more seconds. And if I try to load the game and sign in right now, itll tell me Im already logged in which also seems to always prompt the server to instantly log me off. So that might actually log me out right before the trail completes. So Ill just wait a few minutes before logging in, in the hope the server will still think Im online when the trial ends. And it worked. When I logged in, I got the reward table. Frankly, Id prefer to get the bigger reward from the former than the latter. Yet Im more likely to get the bigger reward from the latter rather than the former.
If you are disconnected right before a trail finishes, and return right after it completes, before all of the league members are even out of the mission map (as happened both times I didnt get the reward), theres got to be a way to flag you as deserving the reward table if it was a successful trial. Or at least whatever Merit is appropriate (Empyrean or Astral, depending on how long ago you got an Empyrean for that trial), and the 10 thread consolation prize. Getting whatever reward (component or threads) your personal participation score warrants is best, but, frankly eithers better than nothing.
Or at least change the policy so that the GMs are allowed to give you the reward if the logs clearly indicate thats what happened to you. (And they do thats what the GM told me in the response to my petition; it was clear Id been disconnected right before the trial ended, and logged back in as fast as possible afterward.) Even if they cant spawn the reward table for you, at least the 10 threads + Merit is better than no reward at all!
M.A. Arcs
Intended for high level play: The Primus Trilogy (Arc #s 10931, 283821, 283825), "Freakshow U" (Arc #189073), Purification (Arc #352381, Dev's Choice!
Intended for low level play: "Learning the Ropes" (Arc #100304), "Cracking Skulls" (Arc #115935), "The Lazarus Project" (Arc #124906)