Super6 - Feedback (Spoilers Ahead)

[Adam Wrong]

So 2 weeks in, we have seen everyone perform and the efforts from 90% has been outstanding. The quality of rps over 1500 words has been amazing. The setup is a nice idea. Difficult to execute but I hope everyone keeps it up.

Buuuuut I'll be honest... I'm a little underwhelmed so far. I don't really feel this has linked in with anything previously used since you took over and I may be missing something but I feel the narrative is lacking somewhat.

From MDK's point of view, he has gone from taking on Jack Benevolence in a non title match for no reason, to now just being in the Extreme tournament with no rhyme or reason and judging by the end of his match is a heel now? I know that not having an initial opponent wasn't your fault but to just stick a person who had main evented the last event is taking on "TBC" feels a little weak and despite LHV busting out a stellar piece, it didn't set me up to start with any enthusiasm...

I like the summarised results.

I like the effort you are putting into the shows and that's appreciated.

Like Russ, I don't buy that 4 matches in 2 groups have been draws. I have my opinion on all 4 matches and I didn't have any of them as draws.

If I had to summarise my feelings of the shows so far, it would be ... indifferent.

[Alex Smiley]

It's a Christmas miracle! Week 3 results are finally posted. Thanks again to everyone for the help, especially (Santa) Russ for helping me this morning with one final match. A couple things to talk about:

1. This past week has been an absolute poopfest, between a ton of stuff coming up at home and just some "holidays blues" popping up at times for me. It's a rough time for the family right now; our second Christmas without my mom around, and a ton of chaos and stress due to other stuff. That said, I'm sorry I let it affect stuff here, and I've given myself a headstart on Week 4 so this doesn't happen again.

The second is in the show itself, so #SpoilersSweetie:

[spoiler]2. There was an angle Jack and I discussed for his match this week, and I realized only after Russ sent me the match that I didn't communicate that to him. Rather than ask him to add anything or to change anything in the match itself, I decided to come up with a reason they weren't at ringside for the match. Feel free to let me know if that was a bad call or not, I just wanted you to be aware WHY it happened lol.[/spoiler]

[Russ]

Overall it was a better show than before, can see aspects of the feedback being taken on board and used which is always commendable. Liking some of the story progression. Well done!

[Alex Smiley]

Question: is the schedule changing at all regarding RPs as I think the show put us a week behind? All good either way, just want to make sure.

Thanks!

No, sir. Since Week 4 was already an extended period and Week 5 is the same, we're not too far off schedule. Good question, though!

[Russ]

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK FOR THE FINALE SHOW HERE.

[NSFW]

PLEASE LEAVE FEEDBACK FOR THE FINALE SHOW HERE.

1st, Alex, we've only known you for a short time but you're a great guy. Much love for inviting us.

2nd, Russ, you showed just how great this e-fed thing can be and organized this show in a time of need. We would be humbled to continue to be apart of this community.

We are absolutely blown away at the quality of the show and absolutely shocked at the results.

[Russ]

First of all well done to the winners and thank you to everyone who took part and made the tournament what it is. Special thanks to all who contributed matches and segments in this and throughout the tournament.

Overall feedback on the tournament - clearly it had its challenges and they were overcome one way or another. I think lessons can be learnt and things can perhaps be more appropriately planned out and organised for the future. Overall there was a good story throughout it and it was a great way to get a number of new faces into the Experts, especially those from EWC.

If I'm honest I'm finding the outcomes a little difficult to take. I know it's not cool and totally taboo in this hobby to dare say you're pissed off at results, but also I've put enough hours/years into this hobby to be allowed to speak my mind.

This was my one and only chance at the tournament; I've run all the previous ones, and given the fact I played essentially a co-runner role in this one by the end I've got a feeling I won't be able to sit back and just enjoy any future tournaments either. I put some of my best ever work into this; I honestly don't think I'll ever write a better promo than the final part of the Thunder finale roleplay. I've put so much into this tournament and to finish it with nothing more than a token win over a half-baked Alex roleplay to me is heartbreaking. I felt shafted when MDK/Scorpio didn't get booked into the tag title match and instead it was given to a team never before seen in the Experts, then I saw a chance and put extra work in to join it anyway. I honestly think I deserved to come out of that set of roleplays for the finale with one accomplishment or another.

Everyone else gets the chance to compete at the top. I never did because I was running The Experts for so long. I probably won't again given the fact I've ended up co-running it once more. I'd love nothing more than to be able to have the name of one of my characters up there with the rest of the best, and I think I deserve that. I don't know. I'm just having a really fucking hard time knowing I wrote with everything I had and then some, and at the end of it have got nothing.

Rip into me for bitching all you like. I think by now I've earned the right to feel how I'm feeling and to talk about it openly...

Still. Well done to everyone that took part. Here's to the next one, whatever guise that takes.

[Adam Wrong]

Negative Norman joining the party... sorry guys...

OK, I'll be honest. I was disappointed with the tournament overall.

I don't think it can be stressed enough how much Russ did in this tournament from start to finish and without his contribution, I very much doubt we would have been past week 2...

Alex, you are a great guy and I appreciate that you have had major personal issues that have gone on which have affected your free time but your organisation of this has been sub par.

Judging:
Not just in the final but throughout the event, I feel that a lot of your judging was based more on storylines rather than actual rping. This became evident in the final when a few results were surprising to say the least with the Tag Team Open Challenge being quite evident with that. No disrespect to NSFW who put out a solid work, but I had at least one of the rps winning by a significant margin. I felt with that team not representing the other fed, it felt more like good PR to have the guests emerge victorious rather than ability.
I felt that Thunder had won in the main event and if I were him, I would be pissed off. It felt like it was better for storylines to have Jack emerge victorious.
Booking:
The storylines that really grabbed attention, came from the people who have booked them and created them between each other. Fresh and Noble was a match built out of nothing and could have had an amazing build but I felt that with no build, it was pretty much meh. I hope I did it justice with the writing. This isn't an ego thing, this isn't anything other than honesty but I really feel that you have plans with some characters and anybody else gets thrown together. As Russ alluded to, you could have had MDK and Scorpio take on your guests but instead threw them into a throwaway match against some of your characters. The only time you have given MDK a match not against one of your characters (in which you haven't really given your all into your rps in either match I don't feel leading it to feel like a procession or an exhibition) was against Jack in a NON TITLE match to ensure had I been adjudged to have won (for the record I don't in any form feel I did win) either shenanigans or a storyline would have been incorporated to keep Jack as champion.
Too many draws:
Early on in the tournament especially, you were reluctant to make decisions and instead opted for draws. This really affected any enthusiasm throughout the event I feel.
Not enough stories being built. How many matches in the final were made of anything developed through the tournament and how many were exhibition style nonsense? Once in a lifetime matches etc should be reserved for reunion and birthday shows. Not just season finales. This should have been the culmination of beef from throughout the tournament but because of poor planning and last minute decisions, there was nothing to use so matches were just thrown together.

The problem is, you are a little too nice and not focussed enough with regards to an event like this. You literally called on me to provide judging or writing at the 11th hour every time and it took Russ to ask me on several occasions to help with results etc leading me to view Russ as the figurehead of the event. Genuinely, it took a lot of persuasion from Russ to keep me enthused in the event as I was done weeks ago and going forwards, it's taken a lot of effort from that same man to keep me interested for more than storyline purposes going forwards.

You have many great ideas and a lot of enthusiasm initially but it wavers quickly it seems and when we are waiting on results and can see you gaming on discord, it leads me to question your focus...

Learning points going forward:
Plan and prepare. If you write out a framework weeks in advance, you are saving yourself a heck of a lot of effort in the long run.
Be a little mean now and again. Judging is not easy but man up and go for a winner and a loser and make sure its for the right reason.
Focus on one battle at a time. Don't think about running before you can even stand up.

Sorry Alex, but I felt the need to be honest

[NSFW]

Alright, we feel like we stumbled onto a circle that isn't ours. We've had little communication with anyone here and I feel like we weren't really a part of it anyway. And frankly, it seems like you guys would rather us not be involved and that's okay.

We were invited, told to roleplay blind, and didn't expect to win anything. When we did, we were absolutely shocked.

So at this point, you guys are free to change the results and have whoever you'd like win the titles because e-fed titles aren't worth causing this much drama over.

We apologize for our involvement and wish this group the best of luck.

[Alex Smiley]

I'd like to make a few things clear:

1. At the end of the day, the thing that's being disputed is my judging, and I can deal with that. The worst that can be said about the decisions I made is that people disagree, and I can understand that frustration.

2. I am not one to angle wins toward or against anyone for any reason, IC/storyline or OOC.

3. I'm incredibly sorry for dropping the ball with this tournament. My personal issues aside, I realize that I made some blunders along the way (from the booking of some matches to decisions being disputed as noted in #1). I'm owning up to those blunders, and look to move forward with the knowledge of what to do and what not to do.

The whole point of bringing The Experts back was to enjoy efedding as a group, remembering what made the hobby fun and focusing on that. I've seen some success in that, primarily through seeing folks like Cindy and Russ come back to the game for the first time in years, and seeing folks like Jack and Adam being a part of things again, and in the process bringing along new friends like NSFW. With the way I handled this tournament, it seems I have failed that mission, and I cannot apologize enough. Again, though, I want to own up to the mistakes I made, and learn from them. There are still some great stories to tell, and some great times to be had, and I will do whatever it takes to make this fun for folks.

[Russ]

Right, well, everyone's had their say.

There's a lot of learning points and a lot to go on with. I think we can probably draw a line under the tournament, a line under the complaints above, and move onto Rival Factions as a fresh start.