Hiya, many thanks again for the interview.
One thing, on a specific note, is that Kim said a timer is one of the most difficult things to implement for the instance events! I'd just like to type in live what I think is required in programming.
1: What should trigger the starting of a timer? A: Entering the instance (or logging in inside one if this is possible).
2: What should stop the timer? A: Leaving the instance or the system registering/performing a disconnect.
3: Are there any issues of resources and how to keep things as simple as possible? A: Yes. I imagine checking
every avatar at logout/disconnect for stuff is not efficient, just because they
might be in an event. So ok, timestamp all logout/disconnects (probably done anyway), and sort it out when an avatar logs back in again (if connection to the player needs to be working). A flag of 'is/was the player in an event?' would not be hard, surely?
4: How often does the timer check for reaching its maximum, and what does it then do? A: Various options, but not exactly hard either. It's programming......
Ok, so, out of interest, have I missed anything significant here? And I realise that if MA can check everyone using a database trawl after the event with a script, that there must be time and event-related data being stored anyway. It could be more about slipping through the net, though - avatars counted as online for longer than they really are etc. MA might not like the idea of players being able to see what the system has to say about how long they've been on an event, when they weren't... but that is a different situation!
Comments anyone - or a separate thread if people think this is worthwhile discussion?
So cut the rest of them out 
Great job!! 
