I think the only real problem behind this event is the fact that it is competetive instead of cooperative. You can't change a community by asking them not to play cliquelancer. That simply doesn't fly in a community where everyone knows everyone and takes every single action as an assault on what they stand for. It is the big crux of faction mentality and simply manifestating the extend of how far groups will go to achieve a certain goal.
Nice battles? Those were probably given at some point during the event, but for the most part, it was people having weights on their RMBs and sitting in Discord Voice with another to talk about various things, for hours. Is it bad? Not necessarily. Grouping up is always some sort of inclusive event. The problem is the manifestation of two big blocks of groups despising each other.
I think these open-end events can fly, but not against each other and instead cooperative. For example, the destruction of Helios could have been simulated differently:
Will Carrier Helios survive long enough before support arrives? Outcasts have three days to bring down the Helios. If they manage to do it in time, the Helios gets destroyed. If not, the Helios receives back-up and survives. Next event: Counter-attack on the Basilica! Repeat.
The groups remain the same, really, but the competition is different. It is not a direct competition of who can amass what, and who plays on which side at what time. If these kinds of events are placed on different dates and not on the same one, it has a certain fairness over the people who didn't get to log this week to partake in either side. Who knows, maybe there are some people who just want to see the world on fire and first log their Ranseurs and in the next event a Crayter Dreadnought?
