DeathRace: Recap and Reflection

This past Saturday, 283 pilots x'd up into three official DeathRace fleets and headed off into the great unknown. A total of 78 jumps into the heart of wild, untamed New Eden Low-Sec. It was chaos, it was exciting and boring at the same time, it was intense and relaxed, insane and - at every moment - potentially doomed to failure.

Behind-the-scenes DeathRace nearly didn't happen about a dozen times last week. In the moments immediately before 17:00 there were many unanswered questions remaining. Half my intended support fleet may or may not be able to attend, would the expected support arrive and in the right place? Would we be able to personally invite almost 300 pilots into a race fleet in time? It was turmoil and extreme panic on my part.

You probably didn't even notice.

You weren't supposed to notice. You didn't notice that Suli's plans changed at the last minute and he was able to organize the end system after all. You didn't notice Male Duckface's alt showing up to at the last second to be the other FC. You didn't notice the dozens of other events that came together or fell apart at the last minute. You aren't supposed to. That was my job.

I take full responsibility. Yes, as many have pointed out, we could have had more "Death" in the DeathRace. This is true. Over 150 ships and pods were removed from the race. Several commitments didn't come together the way they were supposed to. But I don't point fingers and place blame, this is Eve after all. And like I said, the buck stops here.

99% of the feedback I've received has been extremely positive. And I appreciate that. Perhaps it is the perfectionist in me that all I see are the "might have beens". But I am also a realist and understand that no plan is perfect. This is Eve after all. I think I may have mentioned that before.

The important thing for me was to organize the event and get it off the ground successfully. Mostly to prove to myself that it could be done again. I still feel a lingering sadness that the last one, back in 2011, had to be cancelled at the last minute. Having this one work well was important not only to all the racers who so graciously participated, but to the potential of future events. We were laying the groundwork for the future as well as the present.

I am proud of the fact that every element of the event that the Tuskers were responsible for went off without a hitch. And I thank Ripard and Rote for showing up to help with the all important finish line camp. I planned from the beginning that, if everything else fell apart, at least we'd have one battle against a SB BS and an insane finish. Funny enough, since that is exactly how it worked out.

To answer your question, yes we were supposed to have a camp up in Goinard and yes you were going to be hot-dropped in New Eden. Even though the original participants in that last one bailed at the last minute, we almost got another one together during the race! It is amazing how much attention you can get when you can promise 300 ships at a specific location. lol.

You have to have thick skin to do this and be willing and able to roll with the ever changing environment. Nothing will go exactly as planned. So you have to plan for that.

For those of you that feel others cheated during the race rest assured we know this. We planned for it. And it doesn't matter at all. Dealt with. For those of you that feel you were podded or exploded unfairly, we also planned for that. It is a "Death" race and the potential existed for you to die. Remember that part about this being Eve?

It is entirely possible that many of the Winners awarded prizes are not the actual winners. This is also part of Eve. Despite the logs, screen shots, killboards and videos, someone may have been given something they didn't deserve. This happens. No system is perfect. Which is why it will not change. The winners are the winners. I made a few changes yesterday according to changing information and confirmations. But that is done. No more changes will be made.


There will be another DeathRace. Maybe as soon as this Fall. Right now I just want to get back to playing Eve again. So we shall see how I feel about it in a few months. The Tuskers will be having another Frigate FFA soon, so that is something to look forward to.

Because of Saturday the next one will be even easier in many ways. And it will be bigger, more dangerous and more "death" racy than the last one. And yes, it will most likely go through Null.

I've already spent an entire post thanking all of those involved. But it would be wrong of me not to do so once again. Thank you. I gave away almost 10b in Prizes and ISK yesterday, despite my Pirate soul crying a tiny bit every time I did! Except for one remaining Faction Frigate I have to deliver, all prizes have been awarded.

To all of you that raced - thank you. I can only hope that you enjoyed yourself. We had an incredible group of pilots on Saturday from all over New Eden. Young, old, veteran, pirates, miners, mission runners and null space warriors all. And for one brief moment, we were all DeathRacers.

Thanks for that.