by: Tony "RadarX" Jones
As the Tabula Rasa Beta came to a close this week, NCsoft put together an dramatic event involving betrayal, combat, and the assassination of General British himself. If you were watching the community news last week, we were provided email communications between AFS leaders General Darkstarr and SFC Sarah Morrison indicating something was wrong with British. He was taken to a medical facility for an unspecified illness, managed to escape, and disappeared after overpowering Morrison. We received orders on Friday to eliminate him at all costs in order to preserve the security of AFS.
Friday 21:05 CST - As many of us showed up Friday evening, there was very little known about where to go or what to do. Continual attacks happening in the Wilderness 1 instance around Alia Das were repelled by a crowd of 100 or so various leveled players. Level 40ish Striders, Thrax, and even Linkers were being chewed up in a matter of moments.
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BBQ British! Mmmm!
Friday 21:11 CST - As I get an update from a nearby grizzled veteran wearing a strawberry shortcake on their head, it occurs to me that the event very likely won't take place in the most accessible area of the game. It was mentioned General British escaped from Fort Defiance in the Foreas Plateau area so maybe he is coming back for his toothbrush. As I passed through Twin Pillars and Foreas Base I saw no activity out of the ordinary but quite a few people getting their Halloween mask missions completed.
Friday 21: 35 CST - My squad and I arrive outside Fort Defiance. There are two forcefield perimeters, the first protecting the base and the other at the bottom of a small hill providing clear fields of fire. A few dozen players are standing just beyond the second field fighting the occasional strider or Thrax patrol that is foolish enough to walk up close enough.
Friday 21:45 CST - General British announces he is feeling evil and plans to kill us all. I announce to the hundreds of people standing around that it "probably is a good time to pee." No one is still sure where exactly we are supposed to be and what is going to happen. Surely British can't be everywhere at once.
Friday 21:53 CST - From our "secure" position (hiding behind sandbags) we spot Sarah Morrison rallying the troops. This is a good sign we are probably standing in the right place. The crowd is restless judging from the sheer number of people running circles and calling in repeated air strikes. I remind everyone that they'll be sorry for ignoring my bathroom advice.
Friday 21:59 CST - We receive orders to prepare ourselves for an inevitable assault. Sarah Morrison reminds us that this is what we've trained for and it's imperative we hold the line. I've neglected my own bathroom advice and trip over a Fischer Price farm carefully placed in front of the door, requiring me to put in for my Purple Heart before the battle even began.
Friday 22:00 CST - Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I see Taea squeezing off rounds into the crowd probably aiming for the guy with the last name "Pwnzu."
Friday 22:05 CST - There is an admin message he can be found in a few different locations beginning a mass exodus from Fort Defiance. Taea and Calyon, anxious for battle make their way to Cumbria in hopes of catching part of the fight. I wish them well and decide to patiently wait a few more minutes before checking out other locations.
Friday 22:08 CST - My patience pays off as something small comes running towards the crowd. Using standard rules of engagement, everyone opened fire shooting everything from netguns to RPG's which blanketied the area in fire. Whatever it is, it's level 50 so I move forward very carefully to see if I can get a look. It appears to be a miniature General British about half the size of a normal player. "He's so cute!" I exclaim as I unleash my polarity gun on him.
Friday 22:09 CST - A dozen people surround mini-British hitting him with swords, rifle butts, Logos abilities and anything else they could throw. Although I begin to feel sorry for him, I wonder if he's even killable. I put the thought on hold as I'm insta-slapped along with anyone else within 50 meters.
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Hold the Line!
Friday 22:13 CST - As I make my way back out to the battle, utter chaos has ensued in the channel. There are reports of mini-British all over the game from Alia Das, to Irendas. I scout beyond the first conflict and see two more British's heading my way. At this point, I did what any brave AFS soldier would've done, I decided to go to Alia Das.
Friday 22:35 CST - Alia Das is overflowing with people making it very difficult to figure out what's going on. High level Striders and Bane are spawning regularly only to be obliterated by the crowd in mere seconds. Out of the corner my eye, I see someone wearing a beret and assuming it was Prince, I fire my Polariy Gun emptying the magazine. A few others hating his music joined me in shooting him. As I walked over, it was not in fact Prince but another British clone called General Critish.
Friday 22:58 CST - Reports are still pouring in concerning activity all over the game, even in remote areas like Ranja Gorge. I decide to make one more stop in Cumbria Palisades to see if the AFS was more successful in pushing back these clones. I was greeted by a mini-British right off the landing pad so I ran through 2 or 3 other people hoping to have them draw my fire. As I see one of the people fall, I hope it's from the Striders and Predators and not because of me. If it was, those people have my apologies and I want them to know I will treasure their sacrifice next time I get someone else killed.
Friday 23:10 CST - With most of my squad beginning to leave, I take a moment to reflect how far along the Beta has come. So much has happened, and so many things have changed. How grateful am I to be a part of this? As I'm reaching my digital Nirvana, my enlightenment is cut short by a mini-British mowing me down. Mental Note: Reflection is best done away from the battlefield.
While I'm sure the event did go until midnight, this should provide the gist of what happened from the perspective of a bystander and participator. I enjoyed this event as I hope did everyone else and we all look forward to starting launch this week.
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