OPERATION PITCHFORK
By Feylan, sailor67 & Seraph84
This week we’ll take a look at Operation Pitchfork, an
event organised by sailor67 to commemorate the end of
the Star Citizen Persistent Universe beta test. Over 2000
pilots have signed up to take part in a massive invasion
of Vanduul space, and we took some time to talk about
the event with sailor67 and Seraph84, one of the event’s
bigger supporters.
are law and order types and would oppose it. So the idea
was to find an enemy that the community as a whole could
agree on. The other part was I am one of the few who own
a Vanduul Scythe. Lore prevents anyone else from getting
insurance on one that bothered me some. So the only
way to change it was to change the lore so humans can
manufacture Scythes. Of our stated goals, this is the only
one that is “in game” the rest are community related.
PULSE: Have you organized this sort of event before? The
coordination for it is really incredible to see.
sailor67: No, it is kind of funny I have never even played
an online game before. In real life on the other hand I am
retired military and organized various things while active
duty and since retiring. There is a concept called “system of
systems”, organizing this falls nicely into that.
PULSE: So many people have signed up since you
started Pitchfork, were you expecting to get such a huge
response?
PULSE: How would you describe Operation Pitchfork?
sailor67: A community event to celebrate the end of this
wild ride Chris Roberts invited us on. Seemed appropriate
that it be “in game”, as opposed to a physical location.
PULSE: How did you hear about it, and what interested you
in it?
Seraph84: I saw the thread on the forums, and this was in
the earliest days of my RSI forum addiction. I thought to
myself, whoa, this is huge. Here is a PvE idea that every fan
can get behind, an idea that transcends bitter in-group/outgroup rivalries and brings a community together for fun.
Operation Pitchfork is exactly what multiplayer gaming
should be about - a fun, social, 100% inclusive grand
adventure.
sailor67: Yes and no. When I envisioned this, I wanted the
entire player base to participate. When I thought it through,
all the parts “fit” so well together. So on that level I knew
the potential was there. Did I actually think we would have
thousands of our fellow backers signing up? Oh heck
no, I have been so totally humbled by the support of the
community.
PULSE: Seraph, I know you have your own organisation
outside of the operation, are they all joining the fight too?
Seraph84: Yes. BCP is a team and we’ll be slaughtering
Vanduul as a team. I’m hoping that by the end of beta, our
little dozen-member clan will have enough players to fill
(or nearly fill) our own battle instance. I guess we’ll see!
I’m interested in it for two reasons:
1. It sounds fun & profitable.
2. How could I miss an event that nearly all my friends and
enemies from the forums will be participating in? Never!
PULSE: What was your inspiration for it?
sailor67: There was a suggestion late last year about a
general attack on the UEE, but it could not gain consensus
with the community at large, simply because many of us
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